One more network dismantled in France. A series of arrests has hit the devastating world of synthetic drugs in recent days, Le Figaro learned from a source close to the case on Wednesday (October 25th). Three men and two women, aged between 35 and 49, were indicted last Friday in Paris for "importing and trafficking narcotics", the Paris prosecutor's office said. Four of them were remanded in custody, including the alleged leader of the small organization, a man of Chinese origin. The fine team is suspected of holding, since the beginning of the year, a trafficking of "ice", a derivative of methamphetamine, in Île-de-France.
Since last January, the section devoted to the "fight against organized delinquency" of the Paris prosecutor's office has been tracking the network, after having collected valuable information, telling them that a trafficker consumes and sells methamphetamine within the Chinese diaspora, in Île-de-France. The authorities quickly spotted his supplier: a compatriot living in the 3rd arrondissement of Paris. In the course of the investigations, the investigators discovered that the latter, who sold "ice" almost exclusively to the Asian community in Paris, had his goods delivered via parcels from Spain.
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Tens of thousands of euros seized
Dormant during the summer, due to a lack of supplies, the small cell resumes traffic at the beginning of the school year. On 17 October, a major operation brought down the network. The supplier was arrested at the Gare du Nord, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris, as he was preparing to go in the direction of London, before reaching the United States, according to our colleagues at Le Parisien. Dealers were also arrested in Paris and Seine-Saint-Denis. During searches, the police seized "ice", ketamine, cannabis, false identity documents and account books, as well as "luxury goods for an estimated amount of 25,000 euros from one (arrested) person, and 17,500 euros in cash from another," according to the Paris prosecutor's office.
Methamphetamine, which can be called "ice" when it is pure, because of its crystalline solid form reminiscent of ice, is currently not very popular in France. It is much more so in French Polynesia, where it causes a lot of damage. When smoked, "ice" immediately provides a feeling of euphoria, before causing cardiovascular disorders, or irreversible damage to organs or the brain.