Drug Empire Crumbles: Cyborg’s Heirs Face Justice in Seine-Saint-Denis

The Gacem brothers - El Amin, Yacine, Abel - as well as a sister, are appearing before the Bobigny court, over three weeks alongside 17 other defendants. The three members of the family are said to have become the managers of the drug dealing point on the Place du 8-Mai-1945, after the assassination of their elder brother, Mohamed, 35, alias "Cyborg", killed in a hail of Kalashnikov fire in 2019 by four gunmen who had fled in a black Mercedes. He was at the head of a thriving multi-product business - grass, cannabis resin, cocaine - spread over three locations: the Charles-Schmidt housing project, the Place du 8-Mai-1945 and the Soubise housing project. His alleged mastermind or assassin, El Mehdi Zouhairi, alias "Malsain", head of the drug dealing point in the Boute-en-Train housing project, has been on the run in Morocco since 2019. Targeted by a new arrest warrant, he was sentenced in absentia to 10 years in prison and a colossal fine of 2 million euros.

The Gacem brothers, their sister, and 17 other suspects were arrested in the spring of 2023. During the searches, the investigators seized 24.6 kg of cannabis, 646 g of cocaine, 62,960 euros in cash, luxury clothing and leather goods, including a 4,000 euro Hermès Birkin bag. Each of the brothers played a key role in this well-structured organization. The Place du 8-Mai-1945 is presented as "Abel’s turf". Yacine, the other brother, would supervise him. As for El Amin, he would launder the drug money.

Dressed in a sober t-shirt, Abel, 23, is the first to take the stand on Wednesday morning. He had been placed in detention in May 2023 and then under judicial supervision. Incarcerated again after his arrest in possession of 34 kg of cannabis, the youngest of the Gacem brothers will not be able to regain his freedom until 2029. According to the investigation, it is he who takes care of the logistics: he looks for apartments to store the merchandise. "After the point is closed, he transports the takings to a safe place: his bedroom. He ensures the safety of the small hands and even goes so far as to buy hammers at Leroy Merlin, which will be found on the Place du 8-Mai-1945," says Le Parisien. "It can be for the traffic or not," he says evasively.

"Do you intervene in the (drug trafficking) accounts with your brother?" the president asks. "It was misinterpreted, he was doing his thing (cocaine), I was doing my thing (cannabis), Abel brushes off. There was no connection between us." The prosecutor follows up with questions: "Your surname is not neutral. Who is Cyborg? Your big brother? He got assassinated. Why?" Abel tries to evade the questions: "Of course I’ve heard about it, but I was in high school, I wasn’t aware of what was going on. Then I stayed in Algeria for a long time, where my brother was buried."

After Wednesday’s hearing, Yacine Gacem will be in the dock at the beginning of next week.