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

Félix Bingui, head 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 matter. 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. Félix Bingui was the subject of an arrest warrant issued by the French authorities in the summer of 2023. To locate him, the Moroccan authorities worked in conjunction with the National Fugitive Search Brigade. He will be “extradited quickly”, according to the same source.

“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”reacted the Minister of the Interior Gérald Darmanin on X, Saturday shortly after noon.

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.