Par Le Figaro with AFP
Published
yesterday at 23:15,
Update 3 hours ago
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Sixteen defendants, including three prisoners, have been appearing before the Bordeaux Criminal Court since Monday. More than 15 tonnes of cannabis are said to have transited between Spain and France over the course of a year.
A cache in their vehicle allegedly allowed a retired couple, during dozens of trips, to transport 15 tons of cannabis between Spain and France: the trial of a traffic estimated at 110 million euros opened Monday in Bordeaux. Sixteen defendants, including three prisoners, appear for a week before the criminal court for importing, acquiring, transporting, possessing, offering or transferring narcotics, participating in a criminal association, in addition to customs offences.
The trial is taking place two years after the dismantling, in the Lyon region, of a network presented at the time by the police as “of national scope”supplying drugs to several large cities, Bordeaux and Lyon at a minimum. In June 2022, eight men aged 25 to 35 were indicted and imprisoned in this investigation led by the Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (Jirs) of Bordeaux.
Nearly 600 kilos of cannabis resin, 40 kilos of grass and 5 kilos of cocaine, several weapons including two assault rifles, 170,000 euros in cash and various luxury goods, including Rolex watches, were seized. The investigation was prompted by the arrest in the summer of 2020 of a retired couple who were playing the «mules» by smuggling the drugs from Spain to Bordeaux, using a cache set up in his vehicle, according to the police. Six other people were arrested during this first raid and 450,000 euros in cash were discovered.
“More than 15 tons of cannabis”
In May 2021, a second operation led to the arrest of several other suspects in the Bordeaux region, with the police seizing another 950 kilos of cannabis resin and nearly 200,000 euros. By tracing the thread, investigators finally identified the heads of the alleged network operating in Lyon – the people arrested in June 2022. At the end of the investigations, they believe that the retired couple may have imported “more than 15 tons of cannabis representing more than 110,000,000 euros”, “cumulative over a year”according to a judicial source.
Other drug imports were reportedly made from Morocco via heavy goods vehicles whose cargo was collected and distributed in Bordeaux. “The importance of the network, the number of protagonists and the ramifications brought to light made a partial referral of the case necessary.”this source stressed: the court is judging the Bordeaux part of the organization this week, while the investigation continues for “the Lyon and Swiss shutters”.
