Hitman in Marseille: DZ Mafia denies any involvement and its explanation is credible

In a video published on Wednesday, October 8, individuals presenting themselves as the Marseille drug trafficking group DZ Mafia have denied any link with the death of the VTC driver killed by a 14-year-old teenager.

They spoke out in order to “re-establish the truth”. A group of individuals dressed in black, with covered faces and altered voices, presenting themselves as the DZ Mafia, a drug trafficking group that dominates the illicit drug market in Marseille, staged a show to deny any responsibility for the death of the VTC driver killed by a 14-year-old teenager on Friday, October 4.

The broadcast of the video on Wednesday, October 9, led to the opening of an investigation for criminal association by the Marseille prosecutor's office. The investigations were entrusted to the judicial police and the Anti-Cybercrime Office (OFAC), which are responsible for “authenticating this video and identifying the people behind it.” specified the public prosecutor of Marseille, Nicolas Bessone, in a press release.

“No link” between the DZ Mafia and the death of the VTC driver

In the video, which lasts about a minute and a half, a man claiming to be part of the DZ Mafia assures that there is “no link” between the group of drug traffickers and the murder of the VTC driver. As a reminder, a 14-year-old teenager was indicted for the murder of the driver after being denounced by the person who recruited him as a hitman. The instigator is a 23-year-old man, detained in Aix Luynes prison, who told investigators that he had hired the teenager to avenge the murder of another young man. He also said he was affiliated with the DZ Mafia.

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A relationship that the men present in the video deny. “This man, sick and a mythomaniac, pretending to be a member of the DZ Mafia has absolutely no connection with us. We do not know him,” declared the group's spokesperson about the instigator. Before adding: “We have never had such people in our circle.” But should we believe the statements of those who say they are members of the drug trafficking group ? 

A video and explanations deemed credible

The origin of the video has yet to be authenticated, but several elements make the document at least somewhat credible enough to be studied by investigators. First, its poor quality: the video is reminiscent of the stagings of the Corsican terrorist group FLNC in the 90s and 2000s. “We are in this logic of the historical FLNC, we deny, we claim” explains a judicial source to Parisien. The authors of a hoax would have paid more attention to the quality of the video and would have “done better technically” adds the same source.

Then we must take into account the motivations of the DZ Mafia to deny any involvement. “The logic of the DZ Mafia is to keep a good image in the neighborhoods, because they need labor” suggests the source of Parisien. However, the assassinations of innocent people who are not involved in the traffic do it a disservice, as does the involvement of young teenagers recruited as hitmen. On this subject, the DZ Mafia mentions methods that are completely foreign to the group: “The 14-year-old child and the use of VTCs to commit a crime have nothing to do with our methods. “We have enough men, vehicles and resources to act if we were forced to do so.”

In addition to the explanations given by the group depicted in the video, investigators are clinging to other elements that could call into question the affiliation of the sponsor who recruited the 14-year-old hitman to the DZ Mafia. The individual with the worrying psychiatric profile is reportedly seeking to “play a role in the DZ” according to a source close to the case contacted by the Parisien. “He already did it a year ago in another case where he had denounced himself. However, it does not appear in any DZ organization chart,” the informed source continues. The investigation may allow the DZ Mafia to be effectively buried in the case of the VTC driver's death. One less murder that would not take anything away from the list of crimes committed by the drug trafficking group.