Trial of Yoda clan in Marseille: gang war and fall of a drug trafficker
Félix Bingui, known as "the Cat", has been on trial since 18 May in Marseille for leading the Yoda clan. The network, decimated during a war with the DZ Mafia in 2023, has lost most of its grip on the city.
The Yoda clan faces justice after a bloody war
The trial of Félix Bingui, alias "the Cat", opened on Monday 18 May in Marseille. According to RFI, he is suspected of leading the Yoda clan, one of the most important drug trafficking networks in the city. Alongside him, 19 co-defendants, presumed members of the organisation, are appearing in court. Félix Bingui faces up to 20 years in prison for drug trafficking, criminal association and money laundering. A verdict is expected on 5 June.
A rivalry born in Thailand
To understand the fall of the Yoda clan, one must go back to 2022. It is in a nightclub in Thailand that the split between the two gangs occurs. Félix Bingui encounters Mehdi Laribi, head of the DZ Mafia, and throws a bucket of ice cubes in his face. This gesture is "the climax of two years of tension", explains Davidé Brémi, doctoral student at CNAM and member of the Crim'HALT association, interviewed by RFI.
The source of the dispute: the Paternelle, a dealing point that became particularly lucrative during the Covid-19 period. Located near a motorway and an international market, it sees many delivery trucks pass through, vectors of both legal and illicit goods. In 2021, Mehdi Laribi leaves prison and judges his deputy too lenient. A territorial war begins immediately.
The DZ Mafia gains the upper hand
The conflict quickly turns to the advantage of the DZ Mafia. According to Davidé Brémi, Laribi's gang proved to be "far more militarily and strategically efficient" than the Yoda clan. The DZ Mafia notably made use of inexperienced young men sent to the front line, whilst the leading heads of the Yoda clan were put a price on.
The toll for the Yoda clan is heavy. High-ranking figures have been eliminated, including Scar, Félix Bingui's brother-in-law, killed in Spain. For its part, the Yoda clan managed only to strike down "small players" without ever succeeding in neutralising the rival leaders. The decisive element comes in March 2024: the arrest of Félix Bingui himself. By that point, the clan had already lost a large part of its dealing points in Marseille. This arrest marks, according to Brémi, "the end of the war".
A weakened network, not necessarily gone
The question of the future of the Yoda clan remains open. Davidé Brémi distinguishes what is definitively lost from what remains. The dealing point at the Paternelle and the network mobilised during the 2023 war no longer exist. Conversely, the researcher believes it would be premature to speak of total disappearance.
"The Yoda clan had many very powerful alliances and there remain members still at liberty", he specifies. Drug traffickers linked to Félix Bingui now operate primarily outside Marseille, or will be forced, according to Brémi, "by force of circumstance to engage in dialogue with the DZ Mafia". The war has reshuffled the cards of Marseille drug trafficking without entirely erasing the network.
A trial under high tension
Twenty defendants in total face the judges in this matter. The case sheds light on the mechanisms of a conflict between structured criminal organisations, capable of crossing borders — from Thailand to Spain — before being settled on the streets of Marseille. The charges against Félix Bingui cover the entire presumed activity of the clan: drug trafficking, criminal association and money laundering. The court will deliver its verdict on 5 June.
Source: RFI