Marseille’s ‘DZNG’ Emerges as Police Brace for a New Drug-Gang Feud

Overview

• - Police and local sources report new DZNG tags, social videos and Telegram job posts that signal a younger cohort tied to or breaking from the DZ Mafia, with one officer describing a “putsch” inside the group.
• - A large gendarmerie sweep known as Operation Octopus brought 42 arrests and 15 detentions, and investigators say it weakened the group’s cash flow and laundering routes.
• - Investigators link the DZNG moment to a rise in violent acts that include the humiliation and beating of a teen in Bassens and a later attack by a masked commando that fired Kalashnikov rounds.
• - Prosecutor Nicolas Bessone says new drug-selling spots have opened in central Marseille, showing a push into areas that had largely been spared until now.
• - A bystander was killed near Belsunce in early January when a team claiming the DZ Mafia opened fire on a contraband cigarette stall, and the national police directorate is now studying how big raids can fragment markets and fuel more bloodshed.