Mounir Mansouri, Tried Again in Paris, Denies Having Headed a Network Between Morocco and France

The 49-year-old man, arrested in October 2025 in the 15th arrondissement of the capital, is facing his judicial past before the 33rd correctional chamber. On Tuesday, he responded to his alleged involvement in a criminal organization active between 2008 and 2010, connecting Morocco, Spain and the Paris suburbs. The prosecution identifies him as the linchpin of a trafficking that flooded the housing projects of Montrouge, Arcueil and Ivry-sur-Seine, based on the seizure of nearly a ton of cannabis resin during three separate operations.

At the stand, Mounir Mansouri, who prefers the nickname "Calimero" to that of "Baldy", vigorously contested his role as conductor. Incarcerated at the Clairvaux prison at the time of the facts, he minimizes the scope of the damning wiretaps, justifying the use of codes by a "paranoia" of prison. He notably claims that coded terms like "Tom-Tom" referred to the purchase of apartments in Morocco and not to drugs. His lawyers denounced the interpretation of the conversations, vainly demanding their broadcast to prove the absence of direct orders related to the traffic.

The prosecution, unconvinced by this defense on his real estate investments in Morocco, has requested nine years in prison, stressing a criminal record already rich in 17 mentions and 34 years of cumulative detention. The judgment was adjourned to March 12. But Mansouri’s judicial marathon is just beginning: he must answer to an even more spectacular case, involving the hijacking of a helicopter in 2016 to transport 750 kg of cannabis, a case for which he risks up to 16 years in prison.