Drug Rings Exploit Moroccan Teens in Paris Crime Wave, Authorities Respond

Anouar, arrested in early September, in the middle of the night, in the shop of a florist in Plaisir (Yvelines), with two accomplices of 11 and 12 years old, claims to be 14 years old, but this was denied by the radiological tests carried out on his bones which give him 19 years old. "I steal for two Algerians who give me drugs," the false minor admitted before the judges. Knowing his real age, the Versailles Criminal Court sentenced him to 18 months in prison on September 8, reports Le Parisien.

Anouar claims to swallow five Rivotril tablets a day since the age of eight in Morocco. "He tells his judges that he lives under the rule of "bosses" who provide him with his precious pills in exchange for the loot collected during the thefts.
Zakaria, 18 years old, arrested in Saint-Germain-en-Laye (Yvelines), is known under 63 aliases for acts committed in Paris, in the Val-d’Oise, Seine-Saint-Denis and Yvelines in two years!

There are hundreds of Anouars and Zakarias, real minors, mostly Moroccans, living off burglaries and snatches in the Île-de-France region. The police refer to them as "mijeurs" (because they always present themselves as minors to avoid prosecution). Enough to give the justice system a hard time. In the first eight months of 2020, 6,309 foreign minors were arrested, 300 more than in 2019 over the same period. And, at the highest level of the State, there is concern.

Agreements have been made, for the city of Paris alone, with the Moroccan consulate for the repatriation of these young people.

Emmanuel Daoud, a lawyer at the Paris Bar, insists: "If it is a priority, we must give the police the means to cut the link between these children and the receivers, dismantle the networks and arrest the adults who exploit these kids."