Mehdi Laribi arrested in Algeria, boosting France‑Algeria drug‑trafficking cooperation
Algerian authorities detained Mehdi Laribi, a Franco‑Algerian suspected founder of the DZ Mafia, on 20 July 2026 (reported as end‑July) while executing a French arrest warrant. He was placed under judicial control in Algeria and not held in detention.
The DZ Mafia is a criminal network that controls drug trafficking in Marseille and other French cities. French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin and Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez thanked Algeria for the operation, highlighting a renewed France‑Algeria judicial partnership; Algeria does not extradite its nationals but can prosecute them on its own soil.
On 3 August 2026 Algerian police also arrested Rachid Djeha, a senior cadre of the DZ Mafia and brother of Mohamed Djeha, linked to the Castellane drug network. His arrest was similarly praised by Darmanin as proof of the revived security cooperation between the two countries.
Entities: Algeria · Catherine Prisca Droh · DZ Mafia · Filipp Mikhalin · France · Gérald Darmanin · Laurent Nunez · Mehdi Laribi · MelBet · Octopus investigation · Rachid Djeha · Senegal
Claims
What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.
- [● 6 SOURCES] After his arrest, Mehdi Laribi was placed under judicial control in Algeria and not detained. (Algerian authorities)
- [● 6 SOURCES] Mehdi Laribi was arrested in Algeria on 20 July 2026. (French authorities)
- [● 6 SOURCES] Mehdi Laribi is a presumed founder and chief of the DZ Mafia, a criminal organization that controls drug trafficking in Marseille and other French cities. (French justice officials)
- [● 5 SOURCES] Algeria does not extradite its nationals but can prosecute them for crimes committed abroad. (French and Algerian officials)
- [● 7 SOURCES] French Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin publicly thanked Algerian authorities for the arrest of Mehdi Laribi. (Gérald Darmanin)
- [● 3 SOURCES] Rachid Djeha was arrested in Algeria on 3 August 2026. (Algerian authorities)
- [● 2 SOURCES] Rachid Djeha is the brother of Mohamed Djeha and is linked to the Castellane drug network. (French officials)
- [● 7 SOURCES] French Interior Minister Laurent Nuñez also praised the arrest of Mehdi Laribi. (Laurent Nuñez)