Customs officials seized on Monday more than a ton of cannabis herb on the A36 motorway near Besançon, a year after a record seizure of cannabis on the same motorway, we learned Tuesday from a judicial source.
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A truck carrying boxes in which more than one ton of cannabis herb was conditioned was checked on Monday, the first day of deconfinement in France, by customs on the A36, near Miserey-Salines, near Besançon , said the Besançon prosecution to AFP. The market value of the cargo was around 20-30 million euros, he added. The drug was cremated in Besançon.
The driver of the truck, a resident of the Vosges already known to justice for drug-related offenses, was taken into police custody. The investigation was entrusted to the Besançon judicial police.
11 tonnes, a record
On May 10, 2019, 11 tonnes of cannabis resin had been seized by the judicial police in a heavyweight on the A36, in the Besançon sector, a record in France since 1999, announced at the time the specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (JIRS) from Nancy. Four individuals, including an Italian national, were arrested.
Until this operation in May 2019, the largest seizure in France was that of 23.5 tonnes of cannabis carried out in 1999 in Boulogne-sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais).