The trial over the murder of three men whose bodies were found burned in 2020 has opened in southern France, in a case illustrating the extreme violence of the country’s drug gangs.
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The proceedings began on Monday in Aix-en-Provence under tight security, with 11 masked police officers positioned in the defendants’ dock, while an armed security presence patrolled the streets around the courthouse.
Five men with alleged connections to a Marseille-based organised crime group, known as DZ Mafia, are on trial in connection with the killings of three men – Brahim Chabane, Réda Khaldi and Nassim Loubani.
Brahim Chabane is the older brother of Amine Kessaci – a 23-year-old anti-drug trafficking campaigner who has been under police protection for more than a year.
Kessaci, a city councillor in Marseille, arrived at court accompanied by masked police officers. Before entering, he said he was "seeking justice, not revenge".
In November 2025, Kessaci's younger brother Mehdi, who had no links to drug trafficking, was shot dead aged 20 by gunmen on motorbikes in central Marseille. The killing sent shockwaves across France.
The trial is expected to last three weeks.
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Bodies found in burned-out cars
The killings took place against a background of turf wars between drug networks in Marseille, before the emergence of DZ Mafia, which later established its dominance over the local drug trade.
On 29 December 2020, a car was found burned out in a motorway tunnel. Two bodies, each with a bullet wound to the head, were discovered in the boot and on the passenger seat. They were identified as Réda Khaldi and Brahim Chabane.
On 6 January 2021, another burned-out car was found containing the charred and dismembered body of Nassim Loubani.
Investigators concluded that the three men, who were involved in drug trafficking, knew their killers and had been lured into an ambush in Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, near Marseille.
Chabane, who was 22 when he died, had survived two assassination attempts earlier that year.
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Defendants deny involvement
Among the accused are Karim Harrat, suspected of trying to establish control over Marseille’s drug gangs, and Amine Oualane, a suspected future leader of DZ Mafia. Both deny involvement in the killings.
Harrat, known as “Rant”, is accused of ordering and financing the operation from Dubai to eliminate rivals who were disrupting his networks.
Oualane, known as “Mamine”, is accused of acting as his main operative on the ground and being one of the killers.
Both men have been implicated in other murder cases and attempted killings, some allegedly organised from prison.
The trial is being heard by a panel of professional judges rather than a jury, partly because of concerns about possible pressure on jurors.
Harrat, who was extradited from Morocco to France in 2023, was sentenced to 10 years in prison in January for his role as the principal organiser of a drug-trafficking network.
In March, he was sentenced to 25 years for allegedly commissioning a double murder committed in 2019. Oualane was acquitted in that case.
(with newswires)