Drug trafficking in Toulouse's Izards district: millions of euros and wife in authorities' sights
Mohamed Zerrouki and his accomplices are being tried for drug trafficking estimated at €3.7 million. The prosecution's arguments are scheduled for Tuesday.
Trial of Izards trafficking: between partial admissions and millions at stake
According to ladepeche.fr, the trial of Mohamed Zerrouki and his co-accused before the Toulouse assize court is entering its decisive phase, with a prosecution argument scheduled for Tuesday. The case concerns a vast drug trafficking operation and money laundering in the Izards neighbourhood, in the north of the city.
Mohamed Zerrouki, presented by the judiciary and police as "the boss" of the Izards and nicknamed "Zem", admitted on Thursday morning to having "done things", whilst claiming he had "done favours" and "not made much money". The reality of the case paints a radically different picture.
Turnover figures that contradict the accused
Investigations, particularly extracts from conversations obtained from encrypted phones, indicate substantial profits: one million euros profit on 350,000 euros invested in cocaine, and 267,000 euros generated by reselling 300 kg of cannabis. Over an eighteen-month period, total turnover would reach €3.7 million — "and this is not an overestimate", warned a police commissioner during proceedings.
These gains also explain the settling of scores and murders that occurred in the neighbourhood in summer 2020.
Three accused — Mohamed Zerrouki, Badreddine Abbou and Hakim Boudjellah — admit to part of their involvement, whilst distancing themselves from the most damaging elements of the case. Investigators consider these concessions insufficient given the evidence.
The wife at the heart of the charges
The case of Mohamed Zerrouki's wife, mother of his three children, is attracting particular attention from the court. She has maintained throughout the investigation that she "knew nothing" of her husband's illicit activities or the money circulating. "I thought it was from poker", she declared to presiding judge Dominique Coquizart, who told her to take her seat.
Investigators note, however, that Zerrouki lost at gambling far more than he won.
On Thursday evening, an investigator from the Caribbean provided details of the charges against her, who has remained free since the start of the investigation. Beyond a wardrobe branded Louis Vuitton and Dior rather than Zara, extracts from conversations intercepted on her encrypted phone undermine her defence. Her expressed concerns for "her safety" and that of her children, her anger at the fact that "others" had "taken over the territory", and her stated desire to remain "discreet" leave little room for the image of a woman kept out of the loop.
Verdict expected by end of week
The verdict could be delivered as early as Wednesday evening if proceedings accelerate and the accused become more forthcoming, or at the latest Thursday. The prosecution's arguments are to be delivered on Tuesday.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)