ONE of France’s most wanted fugitives has been arrested in Madrid after hiding from the outside world for almost two years.
Policia Nacional officers captured Walid Bara (‘Fondu’) in the Spanish capital on Tuesday night following a complex international manhunt.
Bara carried false French documents, but had no weapons with him.
A French court sentenced the 40-year-old to 25 years in prison for a double murder just hours before his arrest.
He is the alleged head of the Marseille-based organisation DZ Mafia, which has become a major security concern for the government of France.
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The gang leader has remained a fugitive since May 2024 after he walked free from prison due to procedural errors, despite facing charges in four separate cases.
Interior ministry sources said Bara lived in total isolation in a rented apartment in Plaza de la Cruz Verde.
“Even his neighbours didn’t know him, and he only went out to buy food,” investigators told El Pais.
Bara asked officers how they had managed to find him, after avoiding two all contact with friends and family for two years.
The investigation had originally focused on the Mediterranean coast before tracing him to Madrid three weeks ago.
DZ Mafia emerged in the La Paternelle neighbourhood of Marseille in 2023 and has since evolved into a horizontal criminal franchise, similar to Mexican cartels.
They use encrypted apps like Telegram and Snapchat to manage drug trafficking and hits remotely, often from prison or abroad.
Authorities now expect to extradite Bara to France to serve his sentence.
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