The French city of Marseille, which has long struggled with organised crime and drug-related violence, has been rocked by two horrific murders involving teenagers – a 14-year-old killed a taxi driver on a revenge mission for the murder of a 15-year-old, on Monday, the 7th of October, reports the BBC.
With the last two murders, the number of drug-related killings in Marseille has risen to 17 since the start of 2024.
Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone has warned that drug barons are recruiting young boys to kill “without remorse”. He said the “unprecedented brutality” of the murder of the 15-year-old was linked to
disagreements between two gangs known as the “DZ Mafia” and the “Blacks”.
According to prosecutors, one of the DZ Mafia members, who is currently in prison, hired the 15-year-old boy for 2 000 euro to “intimidate” a rival by setting fire to his door. The teenager was spotted and searched by rival members of the Blacks gang, who then stabbed him and set him on fire after finding a gun.
“He was stabbed 50 times with a knife and taken to the Fonscolombes housing estate where he was burned alive,” Bessone said. His friend, also a 15-year-old, managed to escape.
Two days later, the imprisoned DZ Mafia member hired a 14-year-old youth via social media to take revenge, promising to pay him 50 000 euro.
But before reaching his target, the boy shot dead 36-year-old taxi driver Nessim Ramdane because he refused to wait for him while he does the job, Bessone said.
The prisoner, who had hired the teenager, then called police to hand him over. The teenager was taken into custody and admitted to shooting the driver, but insisted the shot was “accidental”.
Prosecutor Franck Rastoul has warned against drug-related violence, saying the youths were “intoxicated on easy drug money” to the point of “total disregard for human life”.
In March, French police in Marseille carried out a large-scale operation targeting drug money and guns in the crime-ridden city, which led to the arrest of 627 people, the seizure of 450kg of cannabis, 19 guns and 1.6 million euros in cash.