Marseille teenager ‘stabbed 50 times’, burned alive in drug-related attack
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox
Follow topic:
MARSEILLE – A 15-year-old boy was “stabbed 50 times” and burned alive in the southern French city of Marseille in an apparent case of drug-related violence, prosecutors said on Oct 6.
Speaking to reporters, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone said the teenager was murdered on Oct 2, describing the case as one of “unprecedented savagery”
Marseille, France’s second-largest city but also one of its poorest, is plagued by drug-related violence.
Mr Bessone said victims and perpetrators of such violence are getting increasingly younger.
The city has, in recent years, witnessed a turf war for control of the highly profitable drug market between various clans, including DZ Mafia.
The teenager was hired by a 23-year-old prisoner to intimidate a competitor by setting fire to his door, Mr Bessone said, adding that he was promised €2,000 (S$2,860).
However, he was spotted by members of a rival gang who repeatedly stabbed him, then set him on fire, Mr Bessone added.
The same prisoner then recruited a 14-year-old minor to carry out a revenge attack and kill a member of the Blacks gang, promising to pay him €50,000.
The 14-year-old hired a 36-year-old driver, who angered the minor and ended up being killed.
The two latest cases mean that the number of drug-related killings in Marseille has risen to 17 since the start of 2024.
By comparison, a total of 49 people were killed in drug-related violence in Marseille in 2023. AFP
