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French authorities are investigating whether a notorious Marseille-based drug trafficking network, known as “DZ Mafia,” is behind a recent wave of violent attacks targeting prisons and correctional staff, the Paris public prosecutor said Saturday.
At a press conference, Paris Prosecutor Laure Beccuau said that investigators from the organized crime unit suspect a connection between the attacks and the DZ Mafia, one of the country’s main drug trafficking networks with deep roots in southern France’s port city of Marseille, long known as a hub for the narcotics trade.
One of the suspected organizers of the prison attacks last month is believed to have ties to the DZ Mafia, Beccuau stated. Authorities are now working to determine the “real or perceived influence” of the group in the escalating violence, according to the Associated Press (AP) .
Several prisons were targeted in arson and shooting incidents, including attacks on the homes of prison staff in the Paris region and elsewhere. A total of 21 individuals have been detained and charged with attempted murder and other related crimes.
The probe comes amid rising concern over the security of France’s correctional system and the increasing boldness of criminal networks in retaliating against perceived threats or policy enforcement.
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