During their anti-narcotics operations, in Essonne or elsewhere, police officers and gendarmes regularly seize firearms hidden in places dedicated to trafficking.
This was still the case in Corbeil-Essonnes recently.
But the find made this week, in a town in Montgeron, is much rarer: a grenade from the First World War, activated and potentially dangerous.
Tuesday, February 13 in the afternoon, police officers from Val d'Yerres - Val-de-Seine raid a building on Allée Colbert, in the La Forêt district.
A place known for several years to house deals.
Wrapped in a bag
The officials go upstairs, inspect the landings, looking for a possible familiar smell... Soon, a technical room in the common areas attracts their attention.
What followed was the discovery of a revolver and the grenade, wrapped in a bag.
As always in such cases, the mine clearance teams are called in for reinforcement.
It turns out that the machine, a “citron foug” model, clearly recognizable by its grid pattern, dates from the First World War.
Initial findings show that the detonator has been modified, making the explosive potentially dangerous.
The activated grenade is evacuated by the deminers to a safe place.
Read alsoEssonne: a war arsenal found in the home of a Nazi admirer
At the same time, the police also got their hands on cannabis resin and herb: approximately 1 kg.
“The product was hidden in another room in the common areas,” specifies a source close to the case.
Everything was seized by the police.
An investigation is underway to try to identify those who may have possessed the illicit products and the two weapons.
No arrests have taken place at this time.
The last discovery of a weapon of this type in Essonne dates back to Christmas 2022. It was made in very different circumstances.
In Vigneux-sur-Seine, the police discovered an arsenal (shells, grenades, etc.) in the home of an individual who presented himself as a follower of Nazism.
The man was automatically hospitalized.