Mehdi Laribi, a 36-year-old Frenchman of Algerian descent, was arrested in Algeria on July 31, 2026, after years on the run. He is considered one of the founders of the brutal criminal organization that bloodily took over Marseille.
French authorities have confirmed that Mehdi Laribi, a 36-year-old considered one of the founders and key leaders of the notorious criminal organization "DZ Mafia," was arrested in Algeria at the end of July. The news was first reported by French newspaper Le Figaro and carried by Jutarnji list, citing French judicial sources. Laribi, who holds both French and Algerian citizenship, had been on the run for years before being arrested on the basis of a French arrest warrant and placed under judicial supervision.
French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin welcomed the arrest on social media platform X, thanking Algerian authorities for their cooperation with the National Prosecutor's Office for Organized Crime (PNACO) and the prosecutor's office in Marseille. However, since Algeria traditionally does not extradite its own nationals, further proceedings against Laribi will depend on diplomatic and judicial cooperation between the two countries, whose relations are currently tense.
The arrest warrant for Laribi was issued as part of a large-scale investigation codenamed "Octopus," led by the Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (JIRS) in Marseille. That city has been the main stronghold of the DZ Mafia for years. As part of the same investigation, a major police operation was carried out in southern France in March 2026, involving around 900 gendarmes. Around forty people were arrested at the time, and among the 26 indicted are other alleged leaders of the group, Amine Oualane and Gabriel Ory. Both were already in prison before their arrests, from where, according to investigators, they allegedly ran criminal operations without hindrance.
Although completely unknown to police until 2023, the DZ Mafia made a terrifying rise in just 18 months, seizing primacy in Marseille's underworld in a brutal war against a rival gang known as Yoda. Prosecutors estimate that the group is responsible for as much as 80 percent of the 49 drug-related murders that occurred in Marseille that year.
The drop in the number of murders during 2024 is not attributed to a calming of the situation, but to the fact that the DZ Mafia established almost total dominance. After that, according to Jutarnji list, it expanded its business from drug trafficking to extortion and racketeering of nightclubs, shops, and even rappers. Police unions point out that the brutality of this gang far surpasses historical Marseille groups, including those known from the film "The French Connection."
The organization relies on recruitment in the poor, marginalized neighborhoods of northern Marseille. Through social media, teenagers are lured with daily wages of 100 euros, and those who prove to be the most brutal quickly advance to positions of paid hitmen earning thousands of euros for individual tasks.
The world public heard about the brutality of Marseille's underworld in May 2024, when armed attackers intercepted a prison van, killed two guards, and freed dangerous criminal Mohamed Amra, known by the nickname "The Fly." The DZ Mafia also operates from within prisons, extorting the smuggling of mobile phones by threatening officers and their families, allowing imprisoned leaders to command their men on the streets without hindrance.
Laribi's arrest is not only a police success but also a diplomatic one. Minister Darmanin visited Algeria as recently as May 2026 precisely to negotiate a joint fight against the DZ Mafia. French justice has so far sent about ten requests for legal assistance to North African countries regarding the leaders of this group. Now, the fate of the alleged boss will depend on Algeria's willingness to continue cooperating with Paris.
