The incident marks ​a milestone in France's grinding battle against mounting drug crime after years of record-breaking cocaine imports from Latin America turbocharged the domestic narcotics trade. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementInterior ‌Minister Laurent Nunez said he ⁠took the decision to remove Alès mayor Christophe Rivenq after credible intelligence suggested an attack was imminent by members ⁠of the DZ Mafia. "Alès is ‌clearly a place where the DZ Mafia is trying to establish a foothold," Nunez told reporters. Advertisement AdvertisementAdvertisement AdvertisementPNACO, a recently created unit tasked ​with tackling the DZ Mafia and France's ​surging drug crime, said it ​had taken over the case from Marseille prosecutors. (Reporting by Charlotte Van Campenhout, additional reporting by Makini Brice, editing ​by Gabriel Stargardter and Gareth Jones)