30 arrested in France during operation against drug trafficking

Around thirty people have been nabbed in an operation against drug trafficking in the north of France.

As per the initial findings of the investigation, the traffickers’ stocks were located in Belgium and the Netherlands, prosecutor Stephane Hardouin said.

A number of customers, salesmen and drug depot managers, as well as right-hand men and the ringleaders of the network, were taken into custody in several police stations in the Val-de-Marne department, the prosecutor said. A 17-year-old is among those arrested.

More than 180 officers were deployed in the operation, which included sweeping searches, mainly in the town of Creteil. The police officers found over 75,000 euros in cash, 87 kilogrammes of cannabis resin, nine kilogrammes of cannabis herb, 81 grammes of cocaine, a sawed-off shotgun and an automatic pistol.

The ball had started rolling after a car was spotted at a dead end, the prosecutor said, explaining that an inconsistency between the license plate and the insurance sticker was identified. The police then closely monitored the area and discovered that several cars from other countries regularly drove back and forth there.

Early findings are that the network had stocks in Belgium and the Netherlands.