The investigation began in February 2018, following an anonymous letter sent to the gendarmerie. This letter reported open drug trafficking in the République district in Guénange, rue des Marguerites and boulevard de la Division Leclerc. Investigators indeed note an incessant back and forth in the sector, with dealers often very young, even minors, from Orleans.
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He gives his orders from his cell
In September 2018, this band was ousted in favor of other dealers whose alleged leader, Billel, was imprisoned. Yet it is from his cell that he continues to give his orders. His cell phone, tapped, will confirm that he received an activity report every evening from “his” subordinates. The traffic, well established, will however be seized by the return to the territory of Orléanais. The gang then decides to acquire weapons to put pressure on their rivals and unearth a CZ pistol and a Kalashnikov type AK47 submachine gun, a weapon of war. From his jail, Billel encourages the one who is considered his deputy, Omar, to make use of it, “to shoot in the legs”.
These eavesdropping are considered sufficiently serious by the public prosecutor and the investigators to, on December 5, 2018, decide to arrest all these little people in order to avoid a bloodbath. About twenty searches will also bring to light large sums of money in cash (up to € 24,000) at the homes of certain protagonists.
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Eight years in prison required
During the hearing, which began Tuesday at the Thionville Criminal Court and ended on Thursday, the defendants generally denied participating in any drug trafficking, and even less dating. With lip service, some will admit to dealing a little, but solo, on their own. As for Billel, whose name comes up on several occasions, he assures us that “he has never controlled drug trafficking from prison. This is a police fantasy. “Yes, but it is you that we hear giving orders”, retorts the president of the court. “They had to borrow it (the phone) from me in prison”, answers the defendant without flinching.
For the deputy public prosecutor, drug trafficking is not the shadow of a doubt. And he clearly designates Billel as the head of the network and Omar as his deputy. It requires 8 years’ imprisonment for the first and 4 years for the second.
The court finally sentenced Billel Sekkil, 23, to 4 years in prison and Omar Hassak, also 23, to 30 months in prison, 10 of which were suspended. Having already served 20 months in pre-trial detention, the latter left the court free. Two defendants, already incarcerated, take over for ten months each. Two others are released. The rest of the team is released, either because their pre-trial detention covers the duration of their sentence, or because they receive a simple suspended sentence. All are, however, prohibited from staying in Guénange.
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