Félix Bingui, the suspected leader of the “Yoda” clan, one of Marseille’s most notorious drug trafficking gangs, is about to be extradited from Morocco to France, according to Le Figaro newspaper.
Arrested on March 8, 2024 in Casablanca, Bingui is accused of having instigated a bloody drug war in France’s second-largest city against rival gang “DZ Mafia.” Since his arrest, Bingui has been in detention awaiting extradition.
Known as “The Cat,” the alleged trafficker had evaded French authorities for years by fleeing to North Africa.
French officials reacted gleefully. “Victory against narco-banditry,” tweeted France’s Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin. “Today, as Minister of Justice, I sincerely thank the Moroccan authorities for initiating the extradition process, which will finally allow [the] French justice [system] to try him.”
According to the newspaper, Morocco is expected to hand over Bingui to French authorities on Wednesday, January 22.
Bingui was arrested last year pursuant to a warrant issued by a Marseille investigative judge citing a laundry list of alleged offenses including “organized drug trafficking, transportation, possession, acquisition, and distribution of narcotics; criminal conspiracy; money laundering; and failure to justify resources.”
In April 2024, he consented to being extradited to France during a hearing before Morocco’s Court of Cassation in Rabat.
For much of 2023, Bingui’s shadow loomed over dozens of violent score-settling incidents in Marseille. Approximately 50 people died in that year alone, said to be casualties of the drug trade and territorial battles over control of the city’s lucrative “fours”—local slang for drug dealing hotspots.
The Yoda gang’s name originated from graffiti of the “Star Wars” character Yoda, painted on a wall in La Paternelle, a housing project in the north of Marseille. The area strategically located near a highway exit became a key battleground as the DZ Mafia, a sprawling rival criminal organization, clashed with Bingui’s forces to take control. The DZ Mafia was the primary—and often sole—opponent of the Yoda clan.
The conflict quickly spread beyond La Paternelle, engulfing other northern districts, then the entire city, and even extending westward across the French border. The DZ Mafia ultimately gained the upper hand, employing hitmen to eliminate the Yoda clan’s foot soldiers and lieutenants as far afield as Spain.