Laribi, a Franco-algerian From Marseille, Was Detained on July 31 and Had Been on the Run for Years

Mehdi Laribi, a suspected founder of the DZ Mafia crime gang, was arrested in Algeria in late July and placed under judicial supervision, judicial sources said Wednesday. The arrest, carried out under a French warrant, was welcomed by Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin, who thanked Algerian authorities for their cooperation with the national anti-organized crime prosecutor's office and the Marseille prosecutor's office. Laribi, a Franco-Algerian from Marseille, was detained on July 31 and had been on the run for years.

He was targeted in the "Octopus" investigation led by Marseille's specialized inter-regional jurisdiction, which in March led to a major sweep in southern France involving some 900 gendarmes and around 40 arrests, with 26 people charged, including suspected DZ Mafia leaders Amine Oualane and Gabriel Ory. Algeria does not extradite its nationals, a judicial source noted. The arrest comes amid tense France-Algeria relations; Darmanin visited Algiers in May to discuss cooperation against the DZ Mafia, whose name references Djazair, the Arabic name for Algeria.

French authorities have filed about ten mutual legal assistance requests targeting DZ Mafia figures believed to be in Algeria. The group's activities, lacking a structured hierarchy according to police sources, have expanded beyond drug trafficking to include extortion of businesses.