French Riviera War Zone: When Drugs Rule

[Music] [Music] [Music] the eight 18 of August 2021 it's 10 p.m. in front of Le marier a neighborhood in the north of Marseilles gunshots are heard four bullets a boy dies on the spot his name was Ryan he was 14 years [Music] old a few days later at his funeral funeral a large crowd came to pay their [Music] respects his family still shaken is torn between grief and [Applause] [Music] shock Ryan was an ordinary teenager who had never been convicted of a crime he loved motorbikes and dreamed of becoming an ambulance [Music] driver an innocent life taken by accident in a war between rival gangs an unbearable thought for his [Music] family Ryan has become a symbol he is the youngest victim of the deadly Madness that has struck the city of Marseilles this [Music] year 15 gun homicides in less than 3 months against a backdrop of crime and drug trafficking 2021 is set to be one of the deadliest in the city's history this is due to the high Financial Stakes involved in controlling the drug dealing points in the northern districts €350 million EUR per year piles of money flowing into the City and fueling rivalries between gangs to assert their dominance these gangs no longer hesitate to resort to contract killings the main reason for this sudden outbreak of violence is the recent release of gang leaders from prison for several months in the heart of this Killing Spree we were allowed to follow the men of the Marseilles police the anti-drug office and the specialized field brigades these elite units use all available means to fight these networks on a daily basis from intimidating techniques to hit and run operations to understand both sides of the fight another team went to meet these traffickers who are at the head of their Empires hierarchical networks that function like businesses where death lurks around every corner the list of deaths also includes collateral victims families forever scarred by the loss of an innocent [Music] child only why did the city of Marseilles go up in flames and how have the police tried to contain it 26th of June 2021 it's a sweltering summer in Marseilles 10:00 a.m. and the thermometer is already over [Music] 25° in the northern districts of the city men from the bst1 14 the specialized field Brigade of the 14th arism are preparing to launch a new operation an extremely risky mission two members of the unit will have have to infiltrate one of the most dangerous spots in the area their targets are the two major drug Outlets of the city cannabis MDMA and cocaine with a daily turnover of €50,000 the layout of the premises is particularly dangerous for the [Music] police [Music] the two men are now in position on the upper floors laurant a 12-year veteran of the unit gives the signal stationed at the entrance one of the Lookouts immediately closes the gate to block the police the warning signals immediately echo through the neighborhood members of the BST come from all over the city to catch the dealers the so-called Shon the first one is arrested after trying to get rid of the cash he had on him at the same time six floors above their trap is about to work out undercover BST officers are waiting for the imminent arrival of the second drug dealer who was on the run upstairs immobilized the dealer does not try to [Music] resist his bag is overflowing with [Music] drugs stand up on the ground floor lauron meets his colleagues from the BST a positive outcome two dealers arrested drugs and money seized and a sales Point shut down on the wall of the entrance hall the opening hours the choice and the price of the drugs are tagged for all to see fore [Music] operations such as these are carried out by the men of the BST on average about 30 times a week a gruelling workload which is set to [Music] [Music] [Music] increase in the meantime the inhabitants of this neighborhood controlled by drug networks will enjoy a little relief but for how long at the 14th arism Police station for the two drug dealers their legal proceedings have just begun before taking them into custody the police have to assess the quantity of drugs and the amount of cash confiscated and in the hands of Mikel from the BST the cocaine dealer's account card becomes evidence and a source of information in total 26 G of cocaine 80 g of weed 200 g of hashish and almost 5,000 in cash no tolerance for these young men these dealers both over 18 are facing between 2 and 4 years years in [Music] prison the afternoon shift is far from over for the BST men they decide to go on patrol in a neighboring housing estate less than a kilometer from the police station asserting their presence on the ground and catching traffickers red-handed are amongst their other missions he their patrol has just started a radio call will change their plan a shooting is reported near a stadium where a rugby match is being [Music] held on the road black smoke attracts their attention a car is on fire presumably the vehicle used by the [Music] shooters a burning car gunshots and Shooters on the run all the ingredients for an action filled [Music] night as they arrive a large crowd gathers around the stadium firemen are on the scene and laurance fears are confirmed the man who was shot did not survive his injuries his relatives have just arrived on the scene the situation becomes extremely heated we decided to stop filming night has fallen on the 15th arism the area around the stadium has been cleared the forensic police of Marseilles are at work they have to find the slightest trace of blood gunpowder or DNA in order to take samples which will then be analyzed this will make it possible to trace The [Music] Killers Eric arela the regional director of the maray criminal investigation department arrives on the scene one possible scenario emerges it was 5:00 p.m. when three armed individuals got out of a sports car they approached a man accompanied by a friend who was leaving the stadium and shot him Point Blank several times to the body a meticulous operation that reflects the extreme determination of the [Music] unit the forensic team will continue its investigations until [Music] dawn the next morning at the 14th Aris police station the number of violent conflicts has decreased in recent years they now fear a Resurgence of rival gang wars [Music] the policeman was right the city will experience an unprecedented series of shootings in the days to [Music] come on the 5th of July a man was shot dead with a Kalashnikov in the irond Del District the next day a 28-year-old man was shot while driving his car on the 24th of July a 26-year-old man was shot in the middle of a housing estate in front of dozens of [Music] witnesses more and more scores are being settled a sign that gangs are trying to take control of certain neighborhoods Millions ions of Euros are at stake but how do these networks work one of our teams managed to get access to one of them in the heart of the northern districts is Bassel a housing estate built in the 1960s now dilapidated it is considered to be a hot bed of drug trafficking and score settling a dozen blocks of flats where nearly 2,000 people live together 55% of the young people are [Music] unemployed we went to meet the Youth of the [Music] neighborhood between trafficking and wandering around they agreed to open the doors of the estate to [Music] us Brahim was born here instead of enjoying his Youth and playgrounds he mainly spent his time in this school that's been deserted for 30 years Raheem himself feels abandoned by the [Music] state politicians have come and gone but no one has really taken an interest the authorities have abandoned [Music] it this housing estate like many others in Marseilles is now in the hands of traffickers all entrances are guarded they have set up rubbish bins as check [Music] points police are not welcome and rival gangs even less so to keep their operation going they have created their own pyramid organization the first link is the lookout he's only 15 years old and has been posted here for 5 months his job is to warn the network of people coming and going [Music] working hours comparable to a regular [Music] job [Music] his colleague on the other side of the estate is not much older they have written notes on this post to help identify the police if he's not careful the punishment from his superiors could be terrible being on the lookout is one of the riskiest posts when rival gangs want to take over a territory they are the ones on the front line for a network that exploits the misery of these teenagers AR the call that signifies a police car is entering the estate the dealer with his bag of drugs and money over his shoulder takes refuge in in a building he is the second link in the trafficking chain and he risks a lot because if he's arrested he will be sent to prison with a debt to the [Music] gang with this call the seller knows he is safe again his hiding place a letter box with a minimum of drugs which he replenishes every half hour in case of arrest the loss would be less severe [Music] [Music] businesses back and customers are already [Music] waiting the manager The Trusted representative of the drug traffickers is never far away he keeps an eye on the [Music] workers an illegal trade that he manages with an iron fist every hour he collects the money from the seller at the bottom of this building these sellers can make up to €20,000 a day this is the man responsible for this deal point but he also manages weapons in case of an attack from rival [Music] gangs [Music] to protect their business as he calls it the traffickers in the northern neighborhoods have armed themselves like never before but where do these weapons come from how do they get them [Music] after several days of Investigation we came into contact with a man who introduces himself as an arms dealer he agreed to meet [Music] us a week later we met him and to our great surprise it was not in the northern districts but further south in the city center in a quiet residential [Music] area here is where he hides out and sells his weapons and the one he sells the [Music] most €4,000 a few months ago it was worth half that with with the increase of scores to be settled between gangs demand has [Applause] skyrocketed his nickname is an anagram of kalash an abbreviation for the Kalashnikov a business that makes him a lot of money he buys many and sells them using social [Music] media he handguns rifles kalashnikovs he informs his customers of the latest arrivals from Eastern Europe selling these weapons is illegal for shakal money is money these weapons of war are used to control the drug trade to intimidate the inhabitants of the city and to kill potential [Music] competitors [Music] there are over50 drug dealing points scattered throughout the city according to police sources drug trafficking and Marseilles generates €350 million per year enormous sums of money some of which is spent abroad while the rest is reinvested into the local economy such as bakeries supermarkets and restaurants or luxury shops in the city center since the beginning of 2021 the police have already seized more than 5 million EUR of criminal assets linked to drug trafficking in Marseilles but recently a new drug has taken Center Stage cocaine quickly spreading through the beautiful Southern neighborhoods they've been nicknamed The Uber Coke dealers who drive up to your front door to deliver the [Music] [Music] cocaine sopan in his 20s is one of the new drug dealers he agreed to have us in his car on a working day 300 p.m. the first customer a regular [Music] in the business for only a few months the young man says he is independent and does not belong to any organization he has no problem selling cocaine according to him he is only satisfying a demand that has exploded in marsill for we head in the direction of the seventh arism a Chic neighborhood near the city center available 24 hours a day 7 days a week sophon does everything he can to remain unnoticed 400 p.m. another client it's one of his regulars who buys over €200 worth of [Music] goods one call after another this afternoon the delivery dealer is going to sell almost 500 worth of [Music] goods on a good day including a night shift he can earn up to $2,000 Eur goe in the past sopon has also worked in the housing Estates of the northern neighborhoods in the drug dealing areas run by gangs as soon as he could he set up his own business to avoid conflicts between rival [Music] gangs for over large amounts of money to keep control over their Outlets the traffickers do not hesitate to bring out the big guns after the bloody month of July the pace of settling scores has intensified once again in August on the 22nd of August Marse woke up to shocking news three people shot dead in one night two of them in a housing estate executed at Point Blank Range the third to make matters worse was abducted right in the city center in front of local residents in this footage a man who has just been thrown into a trunk will be burned alive by his captors a few minutes later a cruel act in line with a ruthless war in the northern districts the housing Estates are barricaded to protect themselves and avoid the attacks of rival gangs the members of the networks prepare themselves mattresses bed springs gas canisters anything and everything is used as protection against an armed assault barriers that form an obstacle course for the inhabitants of these housing Estates some networks do not hesitate to block off whole areas of their neighborhood like here where drug dealers have built a virtually impregnable wall giving it the appearance of a fortress nothing is left a chance here particular care is taken with these barricades that could save their lives in the middle of a violent period in the city of Marseilles the police take the time to talk to the inhabitants these young people posted near drug Outlets are easy targets for rival gangs in an attempt to find weapons the men of the BST have increased the number of raid [Applause] operations one day they spent a whole day in an unmarked car with tinted windows Laur is close to one of the deal points that is a place of tension several armed Commandos fought over this spot for a whole week in the vehicle the heat is stifling from his vantage point lauron observes the transactions despite the danger he gathers important information for future operations despite their efforts the list of deaths continued to grow in early September in this car was a 20-year-old man presumably one of the Network's Lookouts to kill him the asants fired over 30 bullets he didn't stand a chance nearly 15 deaths by firearms in less than 3 months the bloodiest summer in the city's criminal history in light of this the Marseilles public prosecutor agreed to answer our questions for Dominique Lauren the settling of scores has a clear explanation a reorganization of marse's drug gangs is underway having arrived in the city of Marseilles two years ago prosecutor laurant has noticed an increase in the use of cruel methods by criminals in recent months faced with this uncontrollable violence they must Target the networks directly in the heart of the traffic the housing Estates to bring leaders down and seize as many weapons as [Music] possible 4:30 a.m. the headquarters of ofast the Marseilles anti-drug office faced with the outbreak of violence that is setting the neighborhoods Ablaze this unit specialized in drug trafficking is preparing to launch a large scale oper operation at the head of the operation the divisional commissioner Sebastian Lal head of the ofast branch the objective to strike at the heart of one of the Estates that have fallen into the hands of the traffickers for more than a year oast men have been working on this operation which targets about 15 potentially armed individuals [Music] a virtually military maneuver more than 100 police officers assisted by the raid the brii and the CRS were mobilized 250 officers in total their target a housing estate in the northern district one of the emblematic bastions of marse's drug trade la [Music] castellan 5:57 a.m. commissioner lards men have assumed their positions the operation can begin in a few minutes the dormant estate is completely sealed off no one can leave each group moves silently towards the 17 previously identified targets several Network leaders accountants who keep the cash or so-called nannies who are often simple residents in charge of storing the drugs at home [Music] the search begins is one of France's leading narcotics Specialists he coordinates several teams it may seem calm but the officer remains on his guard and carefully watches the windows of the building [Applause] this estate of 7,000 inhabitants has become a mecca for trafficking for years which generates on some days up to €75,000 everywhere and EMP seats of the Lookouts that usually warn of the arrival of the police on each of the five dealing points in the estate a list of the products and their prices are displayed just like in a restaurant on the outskirts of the estate some roads have been blocked by the drug traffickers with solid concrete block walls [Applause] [Music] meanwhile in the heart of the estate the number of arrests and confiscations is [Music] increasing from his laptop divisional commissioner lard in contact with his teams keeps the accounts less than an hour after the launch of the operation more than 13 arrests have been made and bags of drugs are still piling up in the halls of the buildings did you get the items were immediately sealed and stored in the police vehicles the operation took less than 3 hours at oast headquarters it's time to assess the situation the huge table in the meeting room can barely hold the overwhelming amount of drugs seized among the weapons found a Kalashnikov with a power of piercing a bulletproof vest Eric arela the regional director of the marsay criminal investigation department is satisfied 11 people have been arrested and are awaiting trial seven weapons potentially used in the settling of scores have been removed from circulation [Music] thanks to operations like these in 2021 the Marseilles police seized over 200 weapons including 13 kalashnikovs in 2019 over the same period only three had been seized among the recent victims there are not only those suspected of being involved with the networks there are also innocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time tar was a bright 17-year-old high school student on July 8th she died from three Kalashnikov bullets to the head which were not intended for her her only mistake was accompanying a friend in a car which transported a minor trafficking figure he was the target Metra seli is a Marse lawyer specialized in drug trafficking today he defends this grieving family for baa kar's mother is still in shock in addition to the support he gives them the lawyer will represent them in court for this mother had done everything to protect her daughters making academic success the foundation of their upbringing that evening Kar had asked permission to go out to celebrate her graduation [Music] her mother was proud of her and the teenager had even passed her final exam with a distinction she was due to attend the sarbon University in Paris in [Music] September her room remains unti touched nothing has been [Music] [Music] moved to this day kar's family is still waiting for the arrest of her Killers since we finished filming violence in Marseilles has not stopped two new drug rated murders have added to the long list of victims

Channel: Best Documentary

Views: 184,376

Keywords: documentary, France, french, Marseille, city, trafic, illegal, investigation, interview, cop, police, reporting, assignment, mission, suspect, trafficker, offender, equipment, business, black market, trap

Id: NDMtSsm8ARg

Length: 58min 12sec (3492 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 15 2023