A manhunt is underway in France after armed men stopped a prison van to free convicted criminal Mohammed Amra, nicknamed “The Fly” (La Mouche). In the process they killed two proposals and injured several others.
France may not be the first European country that comes to mind when organized crime is mentioned, but Amra’s case, and her audacious escape in broad daylight in front of multiple witnesses, is indicative of how authorities are currently tackling crime. Facing pressure while trying to keep pace. Drug and arms trade.
The prison break occurred near Rouen in the north of the country, but Amra has been convicted of crimes committed in the southern port city of Marseille. It is the center of a well-structured, lucrative and extremely violent drug trade.
Organized crime structures have a long history in Marseille, but have become increasingly powerful as the city’s socio-economic situation continues to decline. The city was known as the “French Connection” in the heroin trafficking route that connected producers in Turkey to consumers in the United States. [1945और1970केदशककेबीच.
यह नेटवर्क फ़्रांस में कॉर्सिकन माफिया द्वारा चलाया गया था, और इसने अनुकूलनशीलता, समन्वय और महत्वपूर्ण स्तर का प्रदर्शन किया अंतरराष्ट्रीय पहुंच.
आज कोर्सीकन को नई पीढ़ी ने पीछे छोड़ दिया है “नशाखोरी”. कैनबिस राल को मोरक्को से स्पेन तक और फिर मार्सिले तक लाया जाता है “तेजी से चलो” काफिले – 4×4 वाहनों के समूह रात के दौरान तेज गति से यात्रा करते हुए, आगे और पीछे स्काउट कारों द्वारा सुरक्षा की जाती है। ये समूह मार्सिले में मौतों में वृद्धि के लिए ज़िम्मेदार हैं, जिसने अपना सबसे घातक वर्ष दर्ज किया है 2023 में गिरोह-प्रेरित नशीली दवाओं की हिंसा.
समस्या भी इससे जुड़ी है छोटे हथियारों की तस्करी पूर्वी यूरोप से आपराधिक समूहों द्वारा फ़्रांस में प्रवेश। एक बार जब हथियार यूरोपीय मुक्त आवाजाही क्षेत्र में पहुंच जाते हैं, तो उनका उपयोग किया जाने लगता है फ़्रांस का नशीली दवाओं का व्यापार.
स्पष्ट रूप से कहें तो, अर्ध-स्वचालित सैन्य ग्रेड के छोटे हथियारों की पहुंच के बिना, अमरा को ले जाने वाली जेल वैन पर हमला करना अधिक कठिन होता। वीडियो फुटेज में भारी हथियारों से लैस लोगों को वाहन के आसपास देखा गया है। प्रत्यक्षदर्शी फुटेज में हथियारबंद लोग दिख रहे हैं।
Warning signs about arms flows into France have been present for some time. Assault rifles used in the 2015 attacks in Paris came from organized crime groups in the Balkans through Europe to France,
All French governments have failed to tackle the problem of organized crime and the violence that results from it. The unraveling of the French affair of the 1970s has some lessons for fighting organized crime today, not least in the widespread cooperation between American, French and Turkish police to break up the international drug networks behind it. were required.
The problem with law enforcement is actually even more pronounced today. Developments in communications and financial technologies now enable criminals to more easily direct their affairs from abroad – especially abroad Opaque jurisdictions like Dubai or in the North African states of Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
The problem here is that governments like France have higher priorities when it comes to cooperation with these states than fighting drug traffickers. Security cooperation is considered more important in relation to terrorism, and perhaps for good reason. Securing lucrative energy supply contracts for French companies is another matter.
Even successful governments have failed to take decisive action on drug trafficking in France. Most of the trade is in hemp, including to France largest markets in Europe, Yet the drug does not generate the same moral panic and public concern as the French Connection’s heroin did in the 1970s.
And with police budgets low, complex drug cases are not prioritized. President Emmanuel Macron has repeatedly visited Marseille and recently unveiled it in March 2024 big anti drug campaign – He acknowledged that this would require the mobilization of thousands of police. It is difficult to see where resources or staff will come from.
joseph downingSenior Lecturer in International Relations and Politics, Aston University
This article is republished from Conversation Under Creative Commons license. original article,