Besançon: he kills two men and flees to Morocco

That day, around 3 p.m., two men aged 24 and 30 had been found dead near a drug dealing point, rue de l’Épitaphe. One was lying on the public highway, the other in a neighboring park, both killed by several bullets fired from a submachine gun. A third man, targeted, had managed to escape, reports France 3.

The investigation, which focused from the outset on a score settlement related to drug trafficking, made it possible to identify a suspect thanks to surveillance cameras and the testimony of an anonymous person. Originally from Haute-Saône, the arrested man is 36 years old and known to the police for numerous offenses. He had in particular been sentenced in 2013 to 10 years in prison for armed robbery and, more recently, to two years in prison for theft with violence and criminal conspiracy in connection with a drug trafficking network in Besançon.

After the facts, the suspect had fled to Morocco, said prosecutor Étienne Manteaux. Back in France on October 29, he was apprehended the next day. During his custody, he denied any involvement, claiming he could prove his absence from the scene at the time of the crime. He had indeed left his cell phone at his home, but the surveillance images contradicted his version of the facts.

Indicted for double homicide in an organized gang in legal recidivism, attempted homicide in an organized gang and criminal conspiracy, he faces life imprisonment. "To equip himself with a sophisticated, repeating war weapon, with 9 well-aimed shots out of 12 fired, we are dealing with the work of a professional criminal," said the prosecutor.

The justice system suspects the existence of a sponsor. "The investigations are far from over," Étienne Manteaux specified. "These are not isolated acts, but they are part of a context related to drug trafficking." The investigators would already have an idea of the identity of this sponsor.

The victims are Fayçal Hakkar, 24, a Besançon resident known for drug cases, and Saibi Hatem, 30, a Tunisian national in an irregular situation. Fayçal Hakkar’s brother, also targeted by the shooter, escaped the bullets.