French authorities have launched what officials describe as the largest operation ever carried out against the criminal group known as the DZ Mafia, as part of an ongoing crackdown on drug trafficking in Marseille.
The operation began yesterday and continued into this morning. Investigators from the National Gendarmerie in Marseille arrested at least 42 people suspected of being linked to the gang.
The name “DZ” refers to the international country code for Algeria, highlighting the Algerian origins of many of its founding members.
Most arrests took place in Marseille and the surrounding Bouches-du-Rhône region, while several suspects were also detained inside French prisons.
According to sources close to the investigation cited by Le Parisien and confirmed by Le Figaro, some of those arrested are believed to be senior members who continued to direct the group’s activities from prison, including from the high-security jails of Condé-sur-Sarthe and Vendin-le-Vieil.
Among the targets was also a lawyer from Lyon, suspected of being corrupted by the gang and helping some of its members continue operating from prison, according to the same sources.
The suspects were placed in police custody as part of an investigation into the structure and financing of the DZ Mafia. Charges include leading a criminal organisation involved in drug trafficking, criminal conspiracy and money laundering.
The inquiry is being supervised by two specialised judges from Marseille’s interregional court unit dedicated to organised crime cases.
The city’s public prosecutor, Nicolas Bessone, is expected to give more details at a press conference scheduled for March 14 once the operation concludes.
The group first appeared in Marseille around 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
Despite its name, experts say the group does not operate like a traditional mafia with a strict hierarchy. Instead, it functions as a flexible and opportunistic network, recruiting people through social media for roles ranging from lookouts at drug-dealing spots to contract killers.
A senior police source described the group to AFP as “a hydra”, adding that it can also act as a criminal service provider with teams sometimes hired by other networks to carry out violent attacks or reinforce their operations.
Although 42 suspects were arrested in this operation, investigators believe the network is broader and still involves many more members and associates.
