Eight people have been indicted for cocaine trafficking between Guyana and the city of Le Mans, and seven placed in pre-trial detention, including a local Guyanese elected official, the public prosecutor of Le Mans announced on Tuesday March 22.
Read alsoCocaine trafficking from Guyana: 12 people indicted
The investigation started in the summer of 2021 following information collected by the research section of the Angers gendarmerie, the latter suspecting "
the existence of cocaine trafficking in the form of eggs
" ingested by passengers flights connecting Guyana to the city of Le Mans, said Delphine Dewailly in a press release.
After several months of investigation, a "
structured criminal network
" was brought to light and a judicial investigation was opened on the counts of importing, acquiring, possessing, transporting, offering or selling narcotics, participation in a criminal association, and bleaching.
The arrests took place in two stages.
The people carrying the cocaine were intercepted after they got off the plane at Orly in October 2021, then on March 17.
On March 18, “
nearly 130 gendarmes were mobilized to dismantle a family clan in the Sablons sector
”, in Le Mans.
Eleven people were arrested and more than 20,000 euros in cash were discovered at their homes.
“
Among these people is a local elected representative from Saint-Laurent du Maroni, to whom these same facts are accused
”, adds the prosecutor.
He is one of the deputy mayors of the city.
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white tsunami
” which hits France
Eight people were indicted on Tuesday, seven of whom were remanded in custody, including the deputy.
“
All the individuals arrested and indicted are of Guyanese or Surinamese origin, and have family ties or a home in Sarthe.
Some of them are already known to the courts for having been involved in criminal proceedings in the past, in particular for offenses against the legislation on narcotics
”, specifies the prosecution.
