From his escape in Morocco to the dock of the accused, the trial of Karim Harrat opens in Marseille

Nicknamed "Le Rant", the 37-year-old man is being tried for organizing a vast network for the distribution of narcotics extending from the northern neighborhoods of the Phocaean city to the Alpes-Maritimes, based on evidence from the dismantling of the encrypted messaging service Sky ECC.

Karim Harrat appears alongside four co-defendants for his alleged participation in the management of several emblematic drug dealing points in Marseille, notably within the Bassens housing project, as well as in Nice. Investigators from the Anti-Narcotics Office (OFAST) present him as an internationally renowned trafficker who became independent after collaborating with the founders of the "DZ Mafia" gang. The investigation is based on the analysis of thousands of messages exchanged via the Sky ECC technology under the pseudonym "Diego Costa", revealing a structured hierarchy and transactions involving large volumes of cannabis resin and cocaine.

Karim Harrat’s journey has been marked by several years of fugitive status before his arrest on November 14, 2021 at Casablanca airport in Morocco. Placed in pre-trial detention and then transferred in the summer of 2025 to the high-security prison of Vendin-le-Vieil, the defendant denies the facts attributed to him despite the accounting elements seized, mentioning sums exceeding 300,000 euros. His criminal record, although including fourteen convictions for theft and violence, does not currently mention any sanction for drug trafficking.

The investigation also highlighted a network of "lieutenants" and logistics personnel responsible for storage, the resale of encrypted phones, and the collection of funds. The searches carried out during the dismantling of the group in December 2022 had led to the seizure of luxury items and high-end watches, illustrating the lifestyle of the presumed members of the organization. The judgment, whose deliberations are expected this Thursday, January 29, is a first judicial step for Karim Harrat, who will have to face justice again next fall before the Assize Court for a triple homicide case committed in 2020.