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The investigators traced links to the "Roma brothers", and gradually built up a picture of the import and distribution networks. One of the leads took them to Hedi Ben Hassen, nephew of Frej
Guedoura, chief of special services and national security in Tunisia, and Habib Ben Ali, known as Moncef, the
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The trial of the "couscous connection", the nickname given to the drug trafficking network, opened on 17 November 1992 in the
Fourteenth Chamber of the Paris Criminal Court. Ben Ali was said to have been the bag carrier for the proceeds of the sales of heroin and cocaine trafficked between Tunisia,
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the names of three couriers bringing heroin and cocaine from
Amsterdam and Brussels to Paris. The police found that the couriers always used rental cars for which they paid in cash. The investigators obtained search warrants and permission to tap telephones. In one of the couriers' apartments they
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On 1 December 1992, Ben Ali's French lawyer met his client in Tunis. The lawyer gave a press conference in which he claimed there was no evidence that Ben Ali deserved the sentence, and that he had been convicted due to political manipulation. He blamed
Islamic fundamentalists for concocting the
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Amsterdam and Paris, and was charged with laundering drug money and breaking narcotics laws. He did not appear. The normal broadcast in
Tunisia of the news program of France's second television channel was suspended during the trial. On 30 November 1992. Ben Ali was found guilty
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The gang had at least 30 members, of whom 25 were arrested and appeared in court. The leaders of the gang were the six Roma brothers, of whom four appeared in court and two were on the run as of 1992. An international arrest warrant was issued for Habib Ben Ali.
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in 1992 about the "Couscous connection". According to the
Canadian academic Lise Garon, "Haddad is probably the only Tunisian to have wrote an article about the involvement of the president's brother in international drug trafficking."
124:. In February 1990 the police tried to arrest these two at an airport before they left France for Tunisia. Ben Ali showed his diplomatic passport, explained his relationship to the president, claimed immunity and was allowed to leave.
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from
Tunisia via Amsterdam and Brussels to Paris, where they distributed the drugs. The trial of the gang members in 1992 received widespread publicity since the younger brother of the
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315:"Le frère du président tunisien inculpé d'infraction à la législation sur les stupéfiants M. Habib Ben Ali ne s'est pas présenté au procès de la " couscous connection ""
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found 180 grams of heroin, a false Dutch driving license, a sawed-off rifle, savings bank receipts and invoices for jewelry purchases using cash.
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386:"Impliqué à Paris dans un réseau de trafic de drogue Le frère du président tunisien a été condamné par défaut à dix ans de prison"
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Ben Ali was found murdered on 14 May 1996 in a Tunis apartment. There was much speculation about who had ordered his death.
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and sentenced to ten years imprisonment. 23 other gang members, mostly
Tunisian, were sentenced to various punishments.
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358:"Après la condamnation de son client L'avocat de Habib Ben Ali dénonce une " manipulation politique ""
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535:
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334:"Couscous connection. (Tunisian President Zinc el-Abidine Ben Ali's brother on trial in France)"
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The investigation began in
January 1989 after an informer gave drug squad investigators in
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Mezri Haddad (23 December 1992). "Raison d'État ou raison de famille".
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429:"Was Ben Ali Behind the Assassination of his Brother Moncef?"
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458:"Ben Ali aurait-il assassiné son frère aîné en 1996 ?"
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charges in an effort to tarnish the family's reputation.
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gang based in Paris in the 1980s. The gang imported
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103:for his involvement in laundering the proceeds.
237:La « couscous connection » ... 1995
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411:(in French). 3 November 1995. Archived from
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482:"La drogue de Belleville mène a la Mafia"
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313:Broussard, Philippe (19 November 1992).
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120:younger brother of Tunisian President
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480:Smadja, Gilles (16 November 1992).
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340:. 28 November 1992. Archived from
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427:Lachheb, Ahmed (19 August 2011).
356:Deure, Michel (3 December 1992).
213:Couscous connection ... Economist
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1:
225:Impliqué à Paris ... Le Monde
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516:Illegal drug trade in Europe
405:"La " couscous connection ""
16:Illegal drug trade in France
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456:Oumma Media (10 May 2012).
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99:was charged and convicted
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122:Zine El Abidine Ben Ali
511:1990 crimes in France
380:. Paris: L’Harmattan.
83:was an international
19:Criminal organization
376:Garon, Lise (1998).
344:on 24 September 2015
153:wrote an article in
97:president of Tunisia
526:Cocaine trafficking
378:Le Silence tunisien
81:couscous connection
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23:Couscous connection
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392:. 1 December 1992
261:Mezri Haddad 1992
113:Belleville, Paris
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28:Years active
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128:Arrest and trial
85:drug trafficking
63:Drug trafficking
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536:Drugs in France
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415:on 6 April 2017
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68:Notable members
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107:Investigation
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72:Habib Ben Ali
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55:Roma brothers
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490:. Retrieved
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297:Lachheb 2011
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151:Mezri Haddad
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488:(in French)
364:(in French)
321:(in French)
186:Smadja 1992
140:in absentia
101:in absentia
531:Drug rings
505:Categories
492:2015-05-14
486:L'Humanité
472:2015-05-14
449:Libération
439:2015-05-14
419:2015-05-14
396:2015-05-14
368:2015-05-14
348:2015-05-14
325:2015-05-14
273:Garon 1998
249:Deure 1992
167:References
156:Libération
60:Activities
52:Leader(s)
44:Ethnicity
36:Territory
409:Le Monde
390:Le Monde
362:Le Monde
319:Le Monde
47:Tunisian
306:Sources
93:cocaine
521:Heroin
89:heroin
462:Oumma
39:Paris
31:1980s
91:and
79:The
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