Karim Harrat faces new trial for ordering 2020 triple killing in Marseille

Karim Harrat, a prominent figure in the Marseille drug underworld, is again before a cour d'assises, this time charged with ordering a December 2020 triple homicide. One of the slain was the half-brother of Amine Kessaci, a leading voice in the city’s anti-drug campaign. Harrat, who is often called “Rantanplan,” insists the nickname does not apply to him, even as prosecutors portray him as the orchestrator of the killings.

He is already serving a 25-year prison term for a 2019 hit that eliminated two competing traffickers. The new trial underscores the continued legal pursuit of high-level narcotics leaders in the region.