We don't sing anymore, we empty our pockets. In full karaoke, the Chinese group of the 2nd DPJ conducted a police operation to say the least unusual at the beginning of last week in Vitry-sur-Seine, the city with the strongest Asian community in the Val-de-Marne.
Investigators arrested seven people suspected of trafficking synthetic drugs in a strange night establishment located in the city center.
The two partners but also their wives, who worked as waitresses, as well as other alleged accomplices, six people in total aged 35 to 47, were finally referred and indicted before magistrates of the court of Créteil. They are also prosecuted for association of criminals.
The police had had this karaoke in their sights for months. In January, they learned that customers could order the waiters to make their evenings unforgettable.
Ketamine, methamphetamine and ice
We are not talking about cocaine, as we use in certain establishments at night, but about a whole variety of synthetic drugs with devastating effects. Ketamine, methamphetamine or one of its derivatives: ice.
Particularly effective hallucinatory or stimulating products but where the "descents" are terrible and the consequences on health extremely dangerous. These drugs, which addict very quickly, are particularly popular in Asia.
The investigators therefore place the Vitry establishment under surveillance and especially those who work there. Only residents of the city and of Ivry-sur-Seine. The police learn in particular that the traffickers have gone to Belgium at least twice to obtain goods.
Thirty clients when the police intervene
When the operation is triggered, around thirty customers participate in karaoke. They get their hands on a sachet of ketamine and traces of drugs on a tray. One of the waitresses has a sachet containing 25 pills of ecstasy on her. According to our information, it was sold for 10 euros each. If you ordered a gram of ketamine, you were charged 50 euros.
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According to a source close to the investigation, a dozen clients have confirmed that these synthetic drugs are made available to them. In custody, the suspects admitted the facts but would minimize them according to the same source.
During the various searches, in particular in a disused Asian gym located next to the karaoke, the police found 200 g of ice, 185 g of ketamine, 140 pills of ecstasy, 17,000 euros in cash but also a rifle with sawn barrel.
Already interventions for nuisances
In the city of Germain-Defresne, adjoining the sports hall, we are in the crowd. "We have a lot of problems here but nothing related to karaoke," laughs a resident this Saturday morning. Right across the street, a local resident remembers receiving a letter from him, "about a year ago", from the establishment, which apparently was being operated illegally, apologizing for the noise.
"We have already acted for drunk customers," confirms a Vitry police officer. In any case, karaoke did not have a storefront and had to be attended by an informed clientele. In the disused sports hall, there were still packs of singing equipment this Saturday.
In December 2017, 13 people, all from the Asian community and in particular the Chinese, were tried in Paris for their involvement to varying degrees in methamphetamine trafficking. The police of the 2 e DPJ had discovered that the traffickers were using the premises of a karaoke bar in the 13th arrondissement, in the heart of Chinatown, to sell their toxic merchandise.
