Their name resonates throughout Lyon (Rhône) of the thugs, but their network extends well beyond the Rhone city.
For nearly 20 years, several members of this very large family - we are talking about nearly thirty brothers and half-brothers - based in Ile-de-France and Lyon, have been suspected of being among the largest drug importers in France.
In this business, the most famous of them inherited the nickname "the Ostrich".
Mohamed B. specialized in the breeding of birds in Morocco, where he had fled after a ten-year prison sentence in 1998. Heavily sentenced a second time in June 2010 for having imported 42 tonnes of cannabis resin, " the Ostrich ”now seems to be out of traffic.
But some of his relatives obviously took him as a model.
Thirteen people indicted
According to our information, his nephew Nassim B., 26, was arrested on March 23 by the gendarmes of the research sections of Versailles, Lyon and Marseille.
Indicted by a magistrate of the Interregional Specialized Jurisdiction (JIRS) of Paris, he would have imported for a year large quantities of herbal cannabis and cocaine from Spain or the Netherlands.
Nassim B. is above all considered as the main relay in Lyon for another of his uncles, suspected of being the head of the organization.
This half-brother of "the Ostrich" is currently on the run.
In total, in this investigation opened exactly a year ago, thirteen people have already been indicted.
Nine of them are in pre-trial detention, according to a judicial source.
The investigations led to the seizure of 33 kg of pure cocaine, 67 kg of grass and more than 400,000 euros of criminal assets.
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In March 2020, the confinement imposed due to the Covid 19 epidemic completely reconfigures drug trafficking.
The closure of the borders makes it very complicated to supply wholesale cannabis from Morocco, a route perfectly mastered by the Lyon siblings.
As this road is closed, the resin resource risks drying up and traffickers must reorganize themselves as a matter of urgency.
A few days before the partitioning of the country, the gendarmes noticed that the half-brother of “the Ostrich” left the region of Malaga (Spain), where he had been living for many years, and put down his suitcases in the Lyon suburbs.
According to investigators, this return to France can be explained by its desire to set up new drug delivery routes.
Go-fast from Spain or the Netherlands
In a few days, an entire network is restructured.
No more importing resin in bulk directly from Morocco, it's time for go-fast to bring up weed from Spain or cocaine from the Netherlands.
A novelty for these traffickers, who adapt quickly.
According to justice, they would have made several trips per week between the Lyon plate and the Netherlands during the year 2020. The goods were then dispatched to dealers in the south-east of France or abroad.
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In September 2020, a courier was arrested in particular with a kilo of cocaine bound for Switzerland.
A few days later, on October 9, an operation was mounted to intercept a go-fast from Spain.
In Nîmes, two conveyors are stopped by the GIGN with 67 kg of grass.
In the process, searches are launched in Lyon.
In the half-brother of "the Ostrich", the gendarmes discovered 31 kg of cocaine.
But the suspect and his nephew Nassim are missing.
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Last January, a new operation was set up by the SRs of Lyon, Versailles and Marseille in the cities of Marseille (Bouches-du-Rhône), Toulon and La Seyne-sur-Mer (Var).
Several clients, suspected of having acquired large quantities of cocaine from Lyon siblings, are arrested and indicted.
Last week the investigation bounced back.
The gendarmes learn that Nassim B., hidden in the Netherlands for several weeks, is back in the Lyon region.
He is arrested in the company of two other people.
Her uncle is still actively wanted.