“We will mainly control people arriving from Pas de la Casa, in Andorra”: immersion with the Ariège gendarmerie

This Wednesday, October 30, the Ariège gendarmes carried out a road control operation at the Pamiers tollbooth on the A66 motorway. “We will essentially control people arriving from Pas de la Casa, in Andorra. The idea is to fight against the trafficking of cigarettes, alcohol and even drugs. Moreover, most often, the smugglers are in an irregular situation. In this way, we can kill two birds with one stone”, explains Major Marc Vialelle of the Foix departmental road safety squadron, who supervises this operation.

If, usually, the air and border police (PAF) of Toulouse accompanies the gendarmes during these road checks, this time the PAF had to decline the invitation, taken by an operation at Blagnac airport.

Thus, seven gendarmes participated in the system: the motorized brigade of Foix, Pamiers and Saint-Girons. It is 2:45 p.m., the first police car arrives in the parking lot of the rest area adjacent to the toll booth. Barely having time to get out of their vehicle, the two soldiers are quickly joined by the rest of the patrol. Cap screwed on the head, yellow flocked gendarmerie vest over the bulletproof and pedestrian camera on the torso… The men in blue are ready.

“We work under requisition from the public prosecutor”

“I will contact the toll services so that they can temporarily close the electronic toll lane so that traffic can be carried out on two lanes, which is more convenient for us,” said the major, tapping on his phone. A few minutes later, a red cross appears on the billboard, condemning the passage. Two gendarmes are designated to “ring the bell”, that is to say, to filter and select the cars to be checked.

And to carry out their mission, the police can count on their famous flair. “We work under requisition from the public prosecutor. As a result, we do not need to note an offense to check the identity of the occupants and search the vehicle,” recalls the squadron leader.

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Narcotics, blood alcohol levels… The gendarmes carried out a successful road control operation on the RN20 in Ariège

It is 3:05 p.m., the first vehicle is headed towards the rest area. Two gendarmes carry out an inspection of this Audi A4, registered in 66. While the first approaches the driver, the second soldier goes around the vehicle in order to inspect its general condition, while taking a look at inside the passenger compartment. “We check the administrative situation of the people on board the vehicle, the driving ability of the driver, insurance… If in doubt, we can also carry out a screening to detect possible consumption of alcohol or narcotics,” explains one of the policemen. A few minutes later, nothing to report, the motorist can continue on his way.

Everyone goes there

The checks follow one another at a frantic pace. Coach full of tourists from Spain, two young people in a black SUV arriving from Andorra, a couple of retirees in their small sedan heading towards the Pink City… Everyone goes there. After about thirty minutes, only a few minor infractions were noted, until a Toyota Rav4 suddenly caught their attention.

Inside, three young people from Toulouse show some signs of nervousness at the sight of the uniforms. While one of the gendarmes asks the drivers to open the trunk of the vehicle, another soldier questions the passengers by observing every detail inside the car. Under the front passenger seat, six cartons of cigarettes, poorly concealed. Nothing illegal, young people are within their rights. The first gendarme also discovered two jars in a bag which seemed to give off a suspicious smell of grass. After carefully inspecting the contents, still nothing abnormal. The three young people can leave.

Track down fake documents

It's the turn of a gray Skoda to be stopped. This time, the police doubt the veracity of the identity documents presented. Fortunately, Lionel

was trained to foil the traps set by counterfeiters. Armed with a special lamp, he sits in the back of the van and spreads out the five documents on a tablet. “My colleague was challenged by certain information which seemed inconsistent to him. Romanian identity documents are easily falsified. Here I will carry out a more in-depth verification using our database, which allows us to search for security elements in order to to confirm or not the correspondence”, he continues. Here again, the police come up short.
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Road checks: ambulances and taxis in the sights of the gendarmes and the financial brigade, and awareness raising operation at the level crossing^{If the majority of checks take place calmly and in a good mood, this is not the case with this white van. Cedric} the passenger, does not hide his annoyance. “I just got checked on my way out of 1

is

RCP, I don't understand why they also do it at the toll booth. I have to pick up my child from school and I'm going to be late. This kind of thing doesn't make me want to go to work at all…”, complains the thirty-year-old. Despite this slight burst of blood, the gendarmes remain calm and demonstrate pedagogy.

A fine of 600 euros