A Chinese national, suspected of being at the heart of ketamine trafficking, was arrested in Lyon after seizures of about forty kilos of this psychotropic, AFP learned Wednesday from judicial source.
The 27-year-old woman, arrested in Lyon, "was placed in provisional detention on September 22 pending her judgment set for November 16," said the prosecutor of this city to AFP, specifying that the operation stemmed from an investigation conducted jointly by the Swiss and French police.
More than €1.5 million worth of products seized
Forty kilograms of this anesthetic used in veterinary medicine, whose value is estimated at just over 1.5 million euros, were seized during several operations in France and Switzerland, according to the prosecutor's office. More than seven kilograms were discovered at the Lyon home of the young woman who was preparing to ship them to the United States, according to the same source.
In France, 249 kg of ketamine were seized in 2018, according to the Anti-Narcotics Office (Ofast). Since then, the product has disappeared from the annual statistics. Only one seizure of 152 kg on a toll in the north of the country was recorded in October 2022.
Marginal figures compared to those of cannabis or cocaine use, even if ketamine, long confined to the world of techno parties, now affects more varied profiles. Ketamine is sold in powder or crystals for 40 euros per gram - cheaper than cocaine (around 70 euros). Sold on the darknet, it arrives by postal freight from Southeast Asia, including India.
