Félix Bingui, the alleged leader of the Yoda clan, one of the city’s most powerful gangs, arrested in Morocco

His clan, opposed to the DZ Mafia network, is involved in the majority of organized gang homicides in Marseille according to the police headquarters.

Félix Bingui, alleged leader of the Yoda clan, was arrested in Casablanca in Morocco on the evening of Friday March 8, franceinfo learned Saturday March 9 from a source close to the case. The Yoda clan is one of the criminal gangs operating in the drug trafficking sector in Marseille, and is opposed to another network nicknamed the DZ Mafia. The Marseille prosecutor’s office confirmed in a press release this Saturday noon his arrest “on an arrest warrant from a Marseille investigating judge for the following charges”: “importation of narcotics by an organized gang”, “transport, detention, acquisition, transfer of narcotics”, “criminal association with a view to committing a crime and an offense punishable by ten years of imprisonment” and “laundering and non-proofing of resources”.

Félix Bingui, nicknamed “the cat” and aged 33, was the subject of an Interpol red notice issued by France as part of an arrest warrant issued by the French authorities in the summer of 2023 for trafficking of narcotics. To locate him, the Moroccan authorities worked in conjunction with the National Fugitive Search Brigade. He will be “extradited quickly”according to this same source.

“This arrest is the result of remarkable cooperation from the Moroccan authorities who carried out his arrest and the meticulous and tireless work of the French Anti-Narcotics Office, the fugitives brigade of the Central Office for the Fight against organized crime and the Marseille PJ on mandate from the judicial authority”welcomes Nicolas Bessone, public prosecutor of Marseille, in this press release.

“Tackling the octopus’ head is the priority”

The Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin welcomed the arrest of“one of the biggest drug traffickers in Marseille”. “Congratulations to the police officers who tirelessly continue the fight against drug trafficking. A major blow has been dealt today to drug banditry thanks to our cooperation with the Moroccan authorities, whom I thank”also reacted the minister, Saturday shortly after noon.

The mayor of Marseille, Benoît Payan, spoke on the same social network “a major blow (…) to international drug trafficking.” “Tackling the octopus’ head is the priority,” also wrote the elected official.

Yoda vs. DZ Mafia, a bloody rivalry

In 2023, “70%” of “narchomicides” or attempted homicides by an organized gang in Marseille were linked to this dispute between DZ Mafia and Yoda, with a “very strong peak” in August, the prosecutor indicated on franceinfo on December 22. It is within the framework of this rivalry that the brother-in-law of Félix Bingui, as well as another member of the Yoda clan, were assassinated in Salou in Spain in May 2023. Nine people were indicted in this case at the beginning of January .

In 2023, 49 people were killed in Bouches-du-Rhône amid drug trafficking, according to the police headquarters.