Sentences of five to ten years in prison were pronounced on Thursday against four men convicted of criminal association for having prepared a settlement of accounts interrupted at the last minute by the intervention of the police. On July 4, 2019, in a discreet residence in the eastern districts of Marseille, officials from an anti-crime squad, alerted by one of their off-duty colleagues, arrested three men next to a motorcycle and a makeup scooter as well as of a utility vehicle containing two loaded Kalashnikovs. A fourth man had managed to escape. Hidden in a bush, a police officer had heard one of the suspects say: "
This is a good team, you have to smoke them
".
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Questioned on this "
relay point
", Diego Cortes, 40, who disputed having arrived at the wheel of the utility had assured to be there to recover a motorcycle.
He was sentenced to ten years in prison with a two-thirds security measure.
The DNA found on a hood lost by the fugitive in his race had made it possible to designate Scander Bouzidi, sentenced to the same sentence.
The latter found refuge in Tunisia and was tried in his absence.
According to the prosecution, Bilel Boughanmi was sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of 6,000 euros.
A fourth defendant, whose DNA had been found on the SIM card and the battery of one of the four phones dedicated to the operation, was sentenced to five years in prison.
"Take the measure of the seriousness of the facts"
The court matched these sentences with a stay ban in Bouches-du-Rhône for five years and a ban on carrying a weapon during the same period.
All had already been convicted, some for involvement in drug trafficking.
The settlement of accounts in preparation aimed, according to the prosecutor, the manager of a point stups, in the context of a war of territories of the drug.
The latter was shot a few months later but the case has not been clarified.
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The court released two men, one of whom was given the benefit of the doubt, the charges against them only due to the presence of their DNA on weapons or ammunition.
According to the defense, which had called for a general acquittal, the reports drawn up by the arresting police officers did not reflect the reality.
The prosecutor had, Wednesday, called on the court to "
take the measure of the gravity of the facts prepared by this very organized team, heavily armed and made up of individuals all known to justice
".
