A broad anti-DZ Mafia operation in Marseille, known as Octopus and supported by about 900 gendarmes across six departments, led to 42 arrests, with 26 people charged and 15 placed in pretrial detention after investigations that began in 2024.

Among those charged, nine are women and twenty originate from Marseille, underscoring the group’s strong local base and a noted feminization of narcotics crime.

Authorities emphasize the DZ Mafia is a real, organized crime network, not a media or police construct, with leadership and operations spanning Marseille and the wider region.

Officials warn of corruption risks within criminal networks, highlighting the organization’s substantial financial resources and its ability to communicate from high-security prison settings.

Seized assets include roughly 4 million euros, 12 properties, and luxury goods, with leadership reportedly earning around 300,000 euros per month, much of which is laundered or reinvested.

Some case details and attendant documents are behind a paywall, limiting access for non-subscribers.

An incarcerated lawyer is accused of helping a DZ Mafia leader stay in touch with the outside via secret communications and the lawyer’s computer.

Indictments include the attorney among those charged, alleged to have provided a technical channel for ongoing organizing while the client was imprisoned.

Communication was allegedly facilitated through professional secrecy and the attorney’s access, enabling external contact despite incarceration.

The case unfolds against a 2025 legal framework that expanded narcotrafficking offense definitions, reflecting a tougher legal stance.

Charges target directing a drug-trafficking gang, an offense carrying potentially life imprisonment, as investigators seek to dismantle the organization’s core structure.

Prosecutors stress that the DZ Mafia is an actual organized entity with a defined leadership and significant financial scale, not merely a construct.