Jean-Baptiste Marty // Credits: Nicolas TUCAT / AFP 6:18 a.m., February 13, 2024

Drug trafficking: a scourge for Marseille police officers. According to information from Europe 1, 91 points of sale were identified during the last census of law enforcement in January 2024. But faced with the increase in police checks but also due to strong competition between neighborhoods , drug traffickers are rethinking themselves, making the work of law enforcement more difficult.

A true hub of drug trafficking in France, the city of Marseille remains in the sights of the authorities. Entire neighborhoods controlled by the biggest dealers in the country, who, faced with heightened competition in certain places in the Marseille city, are forced to change their sales methods to make their business prosper.

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Customer loyalty

According to information from Europe 1, 91 points of sale were identified by the police last January. To stand out from the competition, traffickers use stratagems inspired by the codes of mass distribution with customer loyalty. Nine products purchased, the tenth free, promotional codes or even free samples, dealers are rethinking their sales methods. 

Drug traffickers also seek to make themselves known. To do this, they use internet referencing. For example, the “Point of sale” business is identifiable in the Savine district of Marseille during a search on Google Maps. To attract customers, the different networks also draw inspiration from youth codes: rap clips or even attractive visuals are regularly posted on social networks.

Widely invested social networks which also make it possible to post classified ads and in particular job offers generally titled "jobbers". Often targeted, minors can be easily recruited to come and monitor a place of sale.

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Mobile dealers

The strong presence of police officers on the ground also forces the Marseille “barons” to find alternatives to continue operating their businesses. In 2023, around fifty points of sale will have been dismantled according to the police. But they are worried about a phenomenon that is growing: home delivery.

Inspired by Uberization, delivery accounts abound on social networks. “Ubershit”, “Coffee Marseille”, “Deliverooland”: it is now very easy for customers to place an order, without even having to travel. Disguised as food delivery men, with flocked backpacks, the street dealers are difficult to spot for the police, whose work today is increasingly complicated.