Drug trafficking: a Franco-German network dismantled
Eleven indictments and seizures of drugs, weapons and cash
Quick Look
- A Franco-German cannabis trafficking network was dismantled at the beginning of November with 11 indictments, according to the Nancy deputy prosecutor.
- The investigation led to the seizure of more than 31 kilos of cannabis, weapons and more than 17,000 euros, while German authorities dismantled five plantations and arrested eight suspects.
AI-generated summary
Why It Matters
The investigation began with a customs check in May near Pirmasens, on the German side, where around 20 kilograms of marijuana were discovered in the trunk of a car. The network used rental vehicles and numerous homes to store and distribute drugs in the Grand-Est.
A Franco-German drug trafficking network, particularly cannabis, was dismantled at the beginning of November with 11 indictments, Nancy deputy prosecutor Clara Ziegler said on Sunday, confirming information from France 3 Lorraine.
The network, run from his cell via Snapchat and Telegram by a man repeatedly convicted of drug trafficking, used “numerous homes” to store the drugs, which were distributed across the Grand-Est by delivery men using rental vehicles, the magistrate said in a press release. The trafficking mainly concerned cannabis in the form of herb, resin or pollen, cultivated indoors by suppliers of Albanian origin, established in Germany.
On the German side, the authorities dismantled five illegal cannabis plantations in disused buildings and arrested eight suspects, including six Albanians, a German and an Italian, according to a press release from the Saarbrücken prosecutor's office. During searches carried out in Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate (in the west of the country, near the French border), they notably seized more than 30 kilos of amphetamines, more than a kilo of MDMA and several firearms.
The investigation began with a customs check last May near Pirmasens, north of the Vosges massif, on the German side. An alleged accomplice was arrested after the discovery of approximately 20 kilograms of marijuana in the trunk of his car. Among the 13 suspects arrested on November 3 as part of the French investigation, 11 were presented to an investigating judge for indictment, said the Nancy prosecutor's office. Six were placed in pre-trial detention, the others being subject to judicial supervision.
They were indicted for possession, transport, offer or transfer, acquisition and importation of narcotics, unauthorized possession of weapons and refusal to hand over a means of cryptology. The police seized 31.4 kilos of cannabis as well as ketamine, cocaine, a few grams of heroin and more than 17,000 euros in cash, said the Nancy deputy prosecutor.
What to Watch
AI outlook — possibilities, not facts
The 11 indicted will be tried by a criminal court or an assize court
Likely · Within months
Prosecutions will be initiated against the eight suspects arrested in Germany
Likely · Within months
Open Questions
- What is the full identity of the network leader?
- How many people were arrested in total on both sides of the border?
- What legal action is planned for the 11 indicted?
