Marseille drug lord arrested in Morocco

French authorities announced Saturday that the suspected leader of one of the main drug gangs in Marseille, accused of sparking a bloody drug war in France's second-largest city, has been arrested in Morocco.

"One of Marseille's biggest drug traffickers has been arrested in Morocco. Congratulations to the police who relentlessly pursue the fight against drug trafficking," French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin wrote on X, confirming a report by Le Parisien. "A major blow is dealt today to narco-banditry thanks to our cooperation with Moroccan authorities, whom I thank," the minister added.

The Moroccan National Security Directorate (DGSN), for its part, stated in a press release quoted by the Moroccan news agency MAP that a "French national subject to an international arrest warrant issued by the French authorities for cases related to the establishment of criminal networks involved in international drug trafficking" had been arrested following an operation "aimed at identifying and locating all the places where the suspect could take refuge in several Moroccan cities."

Félix Bingui was the subject of an arrest warrant from a Marseille investigating judge for "importing narcotics in an organized gang, transportation, possession, acquisition, sale of narcotics, criminal association (...) money laundering, and failure to justify resources," according to the prosecutor's office.

A territorial war for control of lucrative drug dealing points - with daily turnovers of up to 80,000 euros in some places - between Felix Bingui's "Yoda" clan and a rival group called "DZ Mafia" has bloodied the city of Marseille, particularly last year.

Bingui, who has spent his entire "career" in drug trafficking in Marseille, regularly traveled back and forth to Morocco until the outbreak of "war" with the rival DZ Mafia gang in February 2023, after which he had not left this North African country.

The Yoda clan was named after murals depicting the character from the Star Wars film series designating some of its drug dealing points in Marseille's neighborhoods. DZ Mafia refers to the national domain for Algeria in internet addresses.