“It is a very significant sum which reflects the determined commitment of the Chartres prosecutor’s office to hit the thug in the wallet,” insists the Chartres public prosecutor, Frédéric Chevallier, when discussing the results of the asset seizures. criminals of the year 2023, mainly from drug trafficking.
The increase is even historic, in Eure-et-Loir, because the 2022 balance sheet of criminal assets amounted to 2 million euros. These figures are the result of several factors, including a very effective strategy: “From the start of a legal case, investigators carry out, in parallel, investigations into the assets of the suspects.”
This allows justice to determine the profits from crime and, above all, to confiscate vehicles, jewelry, leather goods, homes, furniture, multimedia, bank accounts, life insurance, etc. On the sidelines From this recovery of valuable goods, justice weakens the offender, whether he is imprisoned or not.
Moreover, the Chartres public prosecutor’s office indicates that it has noted a change in the behavior of those involved in the proceedings. Their lawyers argue much more about the preservation of these illicit gains than about the prison sentences incurred by their clients. In 2023, investigators sometimes discovered weapons during various searches, including Glock pistols and Browning rifles. But no Kalashnikovs, unlike previous years. This arsenal of traffickers aims to deter competition.
The police and gendarmes have dismantled numerous drug trafficking operations in 2023, without discovering the large storage hideouts of illicit products. The criminals dispatch the imported goods very quickly. The total number of drug seizures is around 20 kg.
Perpetrators of various offenses also concerned
The Chartres public prosecutor’s office did not include in its assessment the 475 kg of cocaine seized by customs on November 24 in Nogent-le-Phaye. A record in the department. A discovery which confirms the scale of drug trafficking in the department.
This trafficking leads to money laundering and investments and various purchases. Justice took over the case
. Examples include the seizure of a Maserati (€110,000) and a Porsche Cayenne (€52,000).
But the Chartres public prosecutor’s office does not only confiscate the goods of traffickers. The perpetrators of theft, violence, abuse of weakness, pimping, extortion, driving without a license or under the influence of alcohol, speeding, etc. They also appear in the non-exhaustive list of criminal assets for the year 2023.
A drone (€2,000) was also seized for a home invasion, a Mercedes van (€15,000) for a repeat driving under drugs, €150,000 from an account for a fraud case, a BMW motorcycle (€28,000) for speeding, equipment from a hair salon (€4,500) for concealed work, or even a cell phone (€900) for theft with weapon…
When the assets are seized, it is the criminal assets management and recovery agency which is responsible for managing these assets and reselling them. The Chartres public prosecutor’s office can also request their allocation to give them to the police and gendarmes. In Eure-et-Loir, investigators are sometimes assigned vehicles, computers, telephones, etc.
1.4 billion
euros of assets seized in France in 2023 (+87%), including 7.5 million in Eure-et-Loir.
23
vehicles seized for more than €370,000 last year in the department.
1
life insurance of €40,000 seized.
259.000 €
real estate seized.
300.000 €
cash seized.
264
gold and silver bars seized.
1.250
gold coins seized.
178
cartons of cigarettes seized.
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