He did not survive his injuries and is dead at the Reims hospital (Marne) on January 10. A few days earlier, he had been removed, struck and left for dead. The affair was only revealed this Thursday, January 23 by the public prosecutor of Laonwhich announces four indictments in this folder.
His name was Moustapha Bouchikhiwas 46 years old and lived in Villers-Cotterêts. In the columns of the newspaper l’Union, the public prosecutor of Laon Guillaume Dondieu reveals that a judicial investigation has been opened on charges of sequestration, kidnapping, violence aggravated by two circumstances (the meeting and premeditation), and murder.
Four young people in pre-trial detention
Entrusted to the Amiens research section and to the Soissons research brigadethe investigation led to the arrest of four young people aged 20 to 28. These arrests took place within 48 hours of the incident. These four individuals were all the subject of indictment and pre-trial detention.
According to the Union, the victim would have been the subject of a punitive expedition after having contracted a debt. Moustapha Bouchiki was reportedly kidnapped on January 7. He was allegedly kidnapped and beaten before being left for dead on rue du Marchois in Villers-Cotterêts the next day. The man suffered a violent blow to the head which left him in a coma before he died in hospital.
An attack on drug trafficking funds
The man suspected of instigating this violent attack is part of the victim’s family. These facts allegedly occurred against a backdrop of drug trafficking. This 27-year-old man has already been sentenced following a crackdown on drug traffickers who operated in the station area of Villers-Cotterêts in May 2023.
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