Alleged Drug Kingpin Flees to Morocco as Saint-Ouen Trafficking Trial Begins

Eleven men and one woman aged 25 to 39 - mostly managers, guards, wholesalers, and nurseries - appeared on Thursday before the Bobigny judicial court for cannabis and cocaine trafficking in 2020 and 2021 in the two towers of the Boute-en-Train housing project in Saint-Ouen, reports BFMTV. On the run in Morocco following the murder of a rival in 2019, El Mehdi Z. alias "Malsain" or "Le Gros", the alleged head of the drug dealing point, was conspicuous by his absence. He is the subject of multiple legal proceedings.

The wiretaps of the car and the home of Mohammed-Salah M., known as "Mojito", the alleged number 2 of this "oven" allow the prosecution of the defendants. According to Mojito, the trafficking generated between 12,000 and 22,000 euros in turnover per day. The man would have ensured the day-to-day management of the trafficking within the "Boute". In court, the former temporary worker at the town hall of Saint-Ouen tried to convince the judges that he was only an "intermittent" of the trafficking, who only carried out occasional missions when he "needed, to go on vacation, etc."

The defendants, three of whom are in detention and two on the run, will be informed of their fate next Friday.