By getting their hands on 216,196kg of methamphetamines in Val in recent days, the customs services made the seizure of the year, described as “exceptional” by Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone.
A seizure resulting from the surveillance work of customs agents, having noted suspicious movements of a vehicle at a box in the town of Val, near Brignoles.
The check led to the discovery of 12 boxes of merchandise which turned out, after verification, to be methamphetamine. For a total resale value on the illicit market of more than 5.8 million euros.
Pretrial detention required
The two occupants of the vehicle were placed in customs detention then taken into police custody after the Marseille SR took over the procedure, under the aegis of the Jirs (specialized interregional jurisdictions).
During a press conference held this Friday alongside representatives of customs and the gendarmerie, Marseille prosecutor Nicolas Bessone announced the opening of a judicial investigation into drug trafficking. The two defendants were ordered to be placed in pre-trial detention.
According to a police source, the average retail price in 2023 of this powerful and addictive drug, sold in the form of crystals, powder, capsules or tablets, was 27 euros per gram.
On June 9, 2019, nearly 400kg of methamphetamines were seized by customs in a truck traveling in Saône-et-Loire on the A39.
Less than a year later, on February 26, 2020, customs services intercepted another truck transporting 175kg of this drug on the highway in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, near the Spanish border.
The Val seizure alone almost equals the total seizures of this synthetic drug in 2022, which was 273kg.
