Inside French drug gangs recruiting children to kill across Marseille
Teenagers trapped by gang demands
A woman who had just bought hashish from a dealer contacted police after receiving a note. It said, “We’re being held captive and need help. We are 15-years-old,” according to the message.
The boys had been assigned gang duties around the Frais-Vallon estate. After bosses blamed them for missing takings, they tried to flee through a second-storey window. One escaped; the other was caught, beaten and stabbed, but survived.
DZ Mafia builds its profile
The gang’s influence is concentrated in deprived streets and high-rise estates in Marseille, France’s second city. After months of attempts, a BBC team entered the area and spoke with young men involved in the violence.
DZ Mafia emerged from a bloody turf war as the city’s most powerful gang. Dimitri Zoulas, head of France’s anti-drug trafficking unit, says it became the first French gang to use video statements and social media to promote its name in 2023.
Recruitment and drug demand
The gang’s reach depends on bringing in more members, including children. The article describes young people as vulnerable to corruption and expendable to leaders who often direct operations from prison or overseas.
Zoulas says France’s number of cocaine users is expected to approach two million, compared with 600,000 in 2017. He also estimates drug smuggling in France brings in €7bn (£5.9bn) annually and involves 200,000 people.
Families face the consequences
Karine Brouillard says a doctor told her that her son Hugo had arrived with a bullet wound to the head. In 2023, Hugo had planned to go south, telling his parents he had found holiday work at a restaurant near Marseille; three weeks later, the doctor called.
Resident Fadella Ouidef guided the BBC through Quartier Nord, where DZ Mafia holds power. At a gang checkpoint, teenagers noticed the camera and a grey 4x4 forced the car to the roadside. Fadella says families fear their children will be drawn in by large sums of money.
Key points
- Two 15-year-olds tried to escape gang captivity at the Frais-Vallon estate.
- DZ Mafia rose to prominence in 2023 using video statements and social media.
- Dimitri Zoulas estimates drug smuggling in France generates €7bn a year.
- Karine Brouillard says her son Hugo was killed by a bullet to the head.