The mayor of Canteleu, Mélanie Boulanger (PS), said Monday, October 11 “
unjustified
” his placement in police custody during an anti-narcotics operation in Seine-Maritime, adding that she knew she was “
beyond reproach
”.
Read alsoMélanie Boulanger, socialist figure of Seine-Maritime, briefly arrested in a narcotics case
Nineteen people had been placed in police custody on Friday during this crackdown.
The police custody of the mayor PS of this city of the agglomeration of Rouen had been lifted Saturday afternoon, like that of a deputy of the city.
“
I cannot understand the custody regime.
The custody regime was not justified because it was not necessary to establish my integrity and my fight as mayor against delinquency,
”she declared Monday from the town hall, also denouncing“
a violation of secret of the investigation which generates rumors and fake news
”.
Contacted by traffickers to try to "intimidate" her
Mélanie Boulanger says she was questioned about the links she could have had with drug traffickers in her town.
"
I have no link, I have no link with these people
," assured the elected.
“
They tried several times to contact me through a proxy.
I am elected on the ground.
They call me, I answer.
They obviously never called me themselves.
This is what I had to explain,
”detailed the mayor.
Read alsoFive people indicted after an anti-narcotics operation in Seine-Maritime
According to her, these traffickers contacted her to try "
to impress her, to intimidate her, to dissuade her from leading the fight
" against delinquency, when installing CCTV cameras or when she asked for additional resources. She said she was followed by car, expected in the parking lot of the town hall or in front of her home but said she never lodged a complaint for fear of reprisals.
"
In the threats that were formulated to me, there was: I know where you live and I know where your daughter goes to school,
" said the mayor.
"
When you are told that, you say to yourself: if I file a complaint, I must be sure of my stroke
."
"
Threatened once more seriously
", Mélanie Boulanger even recounted having requested "
the prefectural authorities
", with a view to possible protection, in vain.
"I know that I am irreproachable"
“
My story is that of an elected representative of the Republic who, like so many others elected for very many, too many years, too often find themselves alone, too often without an answer when they ask the public authorities to help them fight against delinquency and drug trafficking,
”she explained.
"
I have never been worried about the outcome of this episode, as difficult as it is, because I know that I am irreproachable
", she underlined, specifying that her computer, her mobile phone and her tablet had been searched by investigators.
Read alsoSeine-Maritime: Elbeuf will not see its new commissioner, indicted for drug trafficking
"
The lifting of police custody on Saturday (...) demonstrated my innocence,
" said the elected official, denouncing a "
bizarrely orchestrated leak which has become a media-digital wave and threw me in the pasture with my family
”.
Five people were indicted on Sunday in connection with this anti-narcotics crackdown and four others were to be presented to the examining magistrate on Monday, according to the prosecution.
These indictments come within the framework of a judicial investigation opened in September 2019 for drug trafficking and criminal association and led by a judge from Bobigny.
