The hall of the building, behind a porte-cochere and adjoining a bar-tabac, does not look like much.
This place without charm nevertheless concealed the heart of the underground economy of this district of Saint-Ouen (Seine-Saint-Denis).
No less than 33 men and women, aged 14 to 57, arrested in three successive waves launched in June 2020, in January and April 2021, were indicted by an investigating judge from Bobigny in charge of dismantling the point. deal on avenue Michelet.
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These “bosses”, lookouts, vendors, rechargers, collectors of money, nurses of products or tickets, but also a car rental company, a grocer and tobacconists are all suspected of having participated in trafficking or money laundering. drug money. The sums at stake are staggering. According to the use of the telephone of one of the managers of the teams in the field, which contained account sheets, for the period from December 20, 2020 to January 23, 2021 alone, the case brought in between 45,000 and 50,000 euros per day. This gives a monthly turnover of 1.4 million euros and a monthly flow of 179 kilos of cannabis and 4 kilos of cocaine! The investigation revealed that the drug money was laundered thanks to the complicity of tobacconists and a system of winning sports betting.
It was in October 2019 that investigators from the Saint-Ouen police station collected anonymous information concerning this traffic.
It would be managed by two natives of the district.
Moussa S., 30, and Davit M., 26, nicknamed Diva or Boy, in charge of account management.
The police conduct surveillance on the point of the deal and identify the protagonists.
The two men frequent the cafes in the area and drive a rental car, Audi Q3 and Mercedes Class B. But the "bosses" remain at bay.
Officials sometimes see Davit in contact with dealers, giving instructions or monitoring the business.
Moussa is rather in a cafe on rue du Docteur-Bauer where he has his habits and comes in through the back door after closing time.
Video cameras surprised him during suspicious bag exchange operations.
About 300 customers parade in a single afternoon
On the avenue, the "drug supermarket" was open day and night and offered cannabis resin, weed and cocaine to hundreds of customers who lined up in the lobby of number 83 of the city. 'avenue.
"There are fifty between 6 am and noon, and about 300 in the afternoon," say officials.
Employees are paid daily, in the lobby or in the grocery store, depending on their function in the organization by the team manager. A watchman signs for 70 euros a day, a salesman 100 euros, like the reloader who brings a 100 gram plate called "Big Mac" in their coded language. For the grass, they evoke "nuggets". The term "Zip" is used for cocaine, which arrived in October 2019 to align with the significant competition between points of sale in the town.
The team leader explains that he makes the people of the neighborhood work according to their needs.
“We don't really like those who come from elsewhere.
I put in place people who I could trust, with whom we grew up, ”he confirms.
Investigators even identify two teenagers aged 14 and 16 who monitor and feed the drug dealers.
The traffickers work just in time, in small quantities of 5 kilos of resin and 2 kilos of grass, guarded by nurses.
At the beginning the deal was held at number 92 in the city, but the anger of the residents pushed the lessor to hire security guards.
And the sale moved to number 86.
After the first arrests, a new team is relaunching the traffic
In June 2020, the police carried out a first series of arrests. Fifteen men and women are arrested in Saint-Ouen, Montreuil, Paris and Colombes (Hauts-de-Seine). They get their hands on 113,000 euros, luxury leather goods, shoes and many sports betting tickets. In the two nurses of Saint-Ouen, the police discovered 15 kilos of resin, 2 kilos of grass and 820 grams of cocaine.
One of the suspects is surprised by the police as he tries, with a 16-year-old lookout, to throw the drugs out of the window. Without work and short of money, they say they are threatened and admit that they were paid 20 euros every two days to let the traffickers store and cut their merchandise at home. Overall, the actors in the deal confess but cover the bosses for fear of reprisals or pretend not to know them. As for the two "bosses", they deny any participation in the company. Moussa's lawyer, Maître Tarek Koraitem, contacted by the Parisian, did not wish to speak on an investigation file still in progress.
A little later, new information arrives on the police desk. He designates Moussa S.'s brother, Aboubakar, as having taken over the management of operations with a new money collector, a new team leader, a new stock manager, new nurses, etc. point of posting a spy in front of the police station to anticipate checks and police raids. After hours of surveillance, a new series of arrests was carried out in January 2021. Twenty-two people were arrested. The various searches made it possible to seize 58,385 euros in cash, 7.7 kilos of cannabis, two vehicles and a 7.65 caliber handgun. A bank account credited with a sum of 70,980 euros is also blocked.
This time, justice also stops the grocer suspected of helping the traffickers. Five suspects are missing, including Aboubakar, who is said to have taken refuge in Morocco. During the auditions, the little hands recognize their participation. But the lieutenants claim their innocence. Finally, last April, after conducting a heritage investigation, tobacconists suspected of money laundering are indicted but also deny any wrongdoing.