A 36-year-old member of the DZ Mafia has been sentenced to eight years in prison by a court in Toulouse for carrying out arson attacks on two companies linked to Israeli capital. The case has taken on a far broader and more troubling dimension, as France’s National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office is simultaneously investigating possible Iranian involvement.
The man admitted both the facts and his membership in the Marseille-based DZ Mafia during the trial. He acknowledged having taken part, along with accomplices, in setting fire to two business premises near Toulouse and Lyon in January 2024. He claimed to have acted purely as an “executor” and insisted he had no knowledge that the targeted companies had links to Israel.
During sentencing, the presiding judge stated that the court considered his actions to have been driven by purely financial motives and that there was no proof of terrorist, antisemitic, or anti-Israeli intent. At the hearing, the defendant declared: “I have nothing against Jews, Muslims, or Christians.” He has already been convicted 21 times in previous cases.
Four accomplices, three women and one man, were also sentenced to prison terms ranging from four to six years.
Suspected Iranian State Terrorism
Beyond the criminal proceedings, the main defendant is also implicated in a separate investigation led by the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office, following an alert from France’s domestic intelligence agency. That investigation, known in the media as the “Marco Polo” case, concerns a suspected Iranian cell tasked with targeting Jewish and Israeli interests in France and elsewhere in Europe.
According to an internal intelligence synthesis, Iran is suspected of reviving a form of state-sponsored terrorism in Europe, with the alleged objective of striking civilian targets. The strategy would include recruiting common criminals, including drug traffickers, to carry out such attacks, a profile that matches the convicted man in this case.
At trial, he said he had been given 15,000 euros in cash along with a note listing two addresses to be set on fire. His lawyer argued that the acts were an impulsive criminal passage to action, motivated by money rather than ideology.
The man had already been sentenced in December to ten years in prison in Montpellier for weapons trafficking, drug offenses and criminal conspiracy.
