Three people have been indicted in an investigation into a deadly settling of scores between rival groups for control of a deal point in Nice, the prosecution said on Monday.
The facts date back to August 6, 2022 in the disadvantaged Moulins district, in the west of Nice.
A young man of 20, of French nationality and known to the courts for various crimes, some of which related to drugs, was killed, fatally shot by two bullets which hit him in the chest and leg.
“The investigations carried out in flagrante delicto under the direction of the Nice public prosecutor's office and then following a letter of request from a Nice investigating judge established that the facts were linked to the competition between several teams to take charge of the management of a narcotics sales point called La Laverie in the Moulins district, listed as one of the most profitable in the area
,” explains Damien Martinelli, the public prosecutor of Nice, in a press release.
And 18 months after the events,
“on February 19 and 20, 2024, five suspects, aged between 19 and 34 and all known to the police, were arrested by the criminal brigade
,” he specifies.
“At the end of their custody, three were presented to the investigating magistrate and indicted on charges of murder by an organized gang.
One of those indicted was placed under judicial supervision while the other two were placed in pre-trial detention.
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Telephony, technical and scientific police results and testimonies
“This point of deal was dismantled as part of a Nice judicial investigation in November 2023 - several months after the criminal events - by the narcotics brigade and the BRI (research and intervention brigade) with the assistance of the brand new National Investigation Unit (of the judicial police) and the Italian carabinieri
,” the press release continues.
According to the magistrate, contacted by AFP, various elements (telephony, technical and scientific police results and testimonies) allowed the investigators of the judicial police, seized of the case, to trace the suspects.