This is undoubtedly one of the most unusual cocaine seizures in France this year.
Around 372 kg of cocaine were discovered in a van filled with fish, Thursday March 21, in Ville-du-Bois in Essonne, we learned from a police source, confirming information from Actu17.
Three suspects were arrested.
The operation took place in the middle of the afternoon.
A large police force, made up of agents from the BRI-Nat (national research and intervention brigade), was deployed around a refrigerated van suspected of harboring large quantities of drugs.
Three suspects in custody
The vehicle was then in the town of Ville-du-Bois with a young man inside.
He was arrested by the BIS.
In the process, the police seized the XXL cargo: more than 372 kg of cocaine, stored in the middle of numerous crates filled with sea bream...
At the same time, thanks to a coordinated operation, two other suspects were arrested near the shopping center of the same city.
The van and two other vehicles were immobilized.
The three men arrested are 23, 24 and 26 years old.
They were placed in police custody in the OFAST premises at Roissy airport, according to Actu17.
Because, originally, it was the OFAST police officers from Strasbourg who investigated the trail of suspects based in Alsace, in conjunction with the Strasbourg public prosecutor's office and the BRI teams.
Also read: 724 kg of cocaine seized in Essonne… but no investigation due to a shaky procedure
For several weeks, investigators had identified a possible cocaine import network from Colombia, which would transit the goods through Île-de-France, before arriving in Alsace.
This great catch follows another significant seizure, which occurred on Monday March 18 at the port of Le Havre, a major port of entry for cocaine in France: 2.7 tonnes of cocaine discovered in a container.
In Essonne, the year 2023 was marked by the seizure of 724 kg of powder in Guibeville, again in a van.
Cocaine sells for an average of 65 euros per gram in France.
The seizure carried out on Thursday proved particularly successful in this sense: its market value amounts to around 24 million euros.
All cocaine imported into Europe is imported from South America.
Part of it is then transported to French ports by boat.
Other criminal networks choose to pass through the ports of West Africa, where the goods are unloaded, before returning to Europe by road, nestled in trucks.