Identified in November 2023, a cocaine trafficking network discovered in the regionrecruited women without criminal records to transport drugs. These “mules” stayed in Martinique before returning to mainland France with the cocaine hidden under their clothes.
A network discovered between Martinique and Limousin
After a year of investigation, the gendarmes of the Limoges research section identified this active cocaine supply network between Martinique and several towns in Limousin, notably Limoges, Brive and Tulle. This network used young women to transport the drug stuck to the skin.
A large-scale operation and several arrests
The December 15, 2024a vast operation was carried out simultaneously in Martinique, Paris and Limousin. A woman was arrested at Fort-de-France airport as she prepared to board with two kilos of cocaine. The two men suspected of being the brains of the network were arrested at Orly airport while they were waiting for this “mule”. At the same time, two other women, involved in previous trips, were arrested at Limoges and Brive.
Sentences already handed down and judgments to come
The two women arrested in Corrèze and Haute-Vienne were judged quickly. They were sentenced respectively to two years in prison, of which one year was suspended, and to eighteen months, of which ten months was suspended. The two men accused of running the network, as well as the woman arrested in Martinique with the drugs, will be judged on January 23, 2025 by the Limoges criminal court. They are currently in pre-trial detention.
A well-established operating procedure
The investigation made it possible to identify seven journeys carried out according to the same scheme: women with no criminal record were recruited for all-expenses paid stays in Martinique. On their return, they transported the cocaine to mainland France, paid for their services.
This dismantling of gendarmes of the Limoges research sectiontherefore highlighted structured traffic between the Antilles and mainland France.
