Dealer traffickers brew a lot of cash.
If the amounts of the gains are dizzying, the accumulation of banknotes quickly finds its limits if they are not invested in legal activities.
The “bosses” of the avenue Michelet network in Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis), “Abou”, his brother “Marlo” and his friend “Vida”, are officially the heads of a transport and delivery company .
But they are above all suspected of having, for more than two years, made a living by supplying the sector with narcotic products and implemented a money laundering system by diverting sports betting from the Française des Jeux.
Read also Fight against the deal in Saint-Ouen: the "drug supermarket" reported more than a million per month
The protagonists of this affair are playing “Parions Sport” to wash away their dirty money. The technique is to buy winning tickets a little more expensive or to play large sums of cash on matches with low odds, almost won in advance. These two solutions make it possible to transform “dirty” notes into “clean” earnings by bank transfers. They all frequent and play assiduously in several establishments in Saint-Ouen, Paris and Oise.
Since 2017, “Abou” has played 118,000 euros.
In return, he received 323,139 euros in earnings.
The entrepreneur, who wears Dior sneakers and 3,000-euro pullovers, also plays on behalf of members of his family.
His wife, whose bank accounts he uses, for example received 110,000 euros in games.
By studying its heritage, the police have also identified since 2015 investments in companies and in real estate with suspicious money transfers and nominees.
Under his wife's surname, an account and a company in Panama - a notoriously known tax haven - were even discovered during the investigation.
In 2019, the turnover of a tobacco explodes and climbs by 165%
The investigating judge indicted two tobacconists who dispute any money laundering operation. The first, aged 30, is the former tobacco boss of Avenue Michelet. And the second, aged 34, is the manager of a bar on rue du Docteur-Bauer. These traders are suspected of complicity because they receive 5% of the bets made at home. In 2019, Michelet's turnover, thanks to “Parions Sport”, will explode by 165%.
The places are assiduously frequented by "Diva" and her brother, who has invested in a sandwich shop on the sidewalk opposite. The latter were at the heart of the investigations carried out by the police within the framework of the dismantling of the point of deal of the avenue Michelet. They come to tobacco regularly to bet 10,000 to 20,000 euros. "Diva" even calls the tobacconist to bet on credit for him. "If I refused, they would go behind the counter to hit us," he confides. This trader has just sold his business because "he can't take any more of Saint-Ouen".
In front of the investigators, the owner of the second bar confirms that the Française des Jeux is his most lucrative activity and that the protagonists of the traffic are regular customers who bet and consume at his place. "Abu" bet 68,000 euros and won 194,000 euros between 2019 and 2020. "He bets, he wins", underlines the cafeteria in front of the police before walling in silence.
