Murder of Mehdi Kessaci in Marseille: four new suspects remanded in custody, eleven accused
Four additional individuals have been imprisoned as part of the investigation into the murder of Mehdi Kessaci, shot dead in November 2025 in Marseille. The victim was the brother of a prominent figure in the fight against drug trafficking.
Murder of Mehdi Kessaci in Marseille: four new suspects remanded in custody, eleven accused
The investigation into the assassination of Mehdi Kessaci, which occurred on 13 November 2025 in Marseille, has seen a new development. Four people have been remanded in custody, bringing the total number of those charged in this case to eleven, according to an announcement made on 7 July by Vanessa Perrée, magistrate heading the public prosecutor's office specialising in organised crime.
The new defendants, apprehended in late June, comprise three men and one woman aged between 20 and 25 years old. Their criminal records were not clear, and three of them were already in detention for other offences. The Paris judge responsible for civil liberties upheld the prosecution's submissions by ordering their continued imprisonment.
The charges brought against them include homicide and attempted homicide committed within a criminal organisation, membership in a criminal association, receiving goods stolen through aggravated theft, and possession of category B weapons. According to evidence gathered by investigators, some allegedly participated directly in the violent acts, whilst others allegedly held positions within the criminal hierarchy.
Mehdi Kessaci, aged 20 at the time of the events, was the younger brother of Amine Kessaci, known for his involvement in the anti-drugs campaign in Marseille and benefiting from police protection. The young man, with no connection to the drugs trade and with no criminal record, had been shot multiple times in broad daylight.
This crime provoked considerable public concern, given the apparent innocence of the victim and the brutality of the assault. A first phase of arrests had taken place on 23 March 2026, during a large-scale operation coordinated by the OCLCO and the DZPN Sud. Ten people had been taken into police custody, six of whom had been committed for trial before the assizes and remanded in custody. A seventh individual had been apprehended in mid-May.
The national public prosecutor's office for organised crime recalled that these various phases of apprehensions demonstrate the commitment of law enforcement and the judiciary to shed full light on particularly serious facts.
Source: RTL
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)