They are two men and a woman, aged 26 to 44 and of Georgian nationality, indicates in a press release the public prosecutor of Rennes, Philippe Astruc, confirming the information on this trafficking revealed by Le Parisien.
“Of Georgian nationality, aged 26 to 44, they live in social housing in Rennes and are heavily dependent on Fentanyl. They do not have any notable criminal records, although one had been convicted twice for forgery and use of forged documents in 2022 and 2024.“, he explains.
The two men were placed in pre-trial detention and the woman was placed under judicial supervision.
The case began in May 2023 when the La Baule police station (Loire-Atlantique) arrested a Georgian in flagrante delicto who presented stolen and/or falsified prescriptions to several local pharmacies, to obtain the delivery of medicines containing Fentanyl. in its maximum dosage, particularly in the form of transdermal patches.
More than 2,000 boxes of Fentanyl distributed in 17 departments in France
Fentanyl is an opioid analgesic having an effect approximately one hundred times more powerful than morphine and at least fifty times more than heroin, extremely addictive (physical and psychological dependence), underlines the Rennes prosecutor’s office in its press release.
After the indictment and detention of the accused, the investigations carried out by the Rennes branch of the Central Office for the fight against attacks on the environment and public health (OCLAESP) demonstrated the existence of a “criminal group“active for several years”in all the departments of the Grand-Ouest“.
The Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (JIRS) in organized crime in Rennes identified a total of 723 prescriptions (517 falsified and 206 resulting from theft) which allowed the delivery of 2,300 boxes of Fentanyl in 17 departments in the west of France.
Fentanyl is combined with a synthetic drug during consumption
“At this stage, it is established that the Fentanyl is intended in part for the personal consumption of the defendants.” and partly for resale within the Georgian community in France, according to the prosecutor’s press release.
An operation carried out on Monday June 10 by more than a hundred gendarmes from OCLAESP and the Brittany region resulted in the placement in police custody of 15 people, mainly in Rennes. Two of them were exonerated, victims of identity theft.
https://www.whatsupdoc-lemag.fr/article/10-milliards-les-chaines-de-pharmacie-americaines-vident-leurs-poches-pour-sortir-de-la
Ten others were released, because they were identified as simple clients of the network or for continued investigations.
Unlike France where the product in question is a drug controlled by the authorities, in the United States where this opioid and its derivatives have become a major public health problem, “the consumption of Fentanyl does not relate to medicines but to a synthetic drug imported by Mexican cartels or from China“, underlined Mr. Astruc.
With AFP
