Le Figaro Nice
Nearly 200 police officers and gendarmes positioned themselves on the roads of the Riviera on Wednesday to fight in particular against driving under the influence of narcotics, a scourge which is linked to numerous traffic accidents in the Alpes-Maritimes and elsewhere in the region. Hexagon. This operation, at the request of the two prosecutor's offices in the Maralpine territory (Nice and Grasse), also aimed to attack drug users who come to obtain their supplies from the various points of sale in the cities of Nice and Cannes.
Using a drone, the police were able to follow the purchase of a cannabis and cocaine user in the notoriously sensitive Moulins district, in the west of the Riviera capital, before he doesn't take the wheel again. A little further on, a patrol was able to intercept it. In addition to this purchase, he was driving under the influence of drugs.
“In all operations, the drone is relevant
,” defends Commander Florence Gavello of the departmental directorate of public security.
It flies very high and therefore cannot be heard or spotted.”
The police pilot had set up in a courtyard of the nearby police station.
1000 checks in one day
Nearly a thousand checks were carried out during the day and around thirty individuals were sanctioned in connection with narcotics: 18 for driving under the influence of drugs and 17 for drug use.
“It’s still too much and worrying
,” notes a police source. Prosecutors indicated that these people will be subject to criminal proceedings and recalled that a sentence of two years in prison was incurred. In total, 164 offenses were noted as well as 25 vehicle immobilizations, nine impoundments and seven license withdrawals.
Since taking office at the Nice court, Damien Martinelli has made the fight against drug trafficking one of his priorities with the desire to also track down consumers. Another operation of this type had already been carried out a few months ago.
It was also in the context of a major bus accident in the town of Levens in January that controls were reinforced. The driver was driving under the influence of cocaine with children on board, who had been seriously injured that day. Other bus drivers tested positive shortly after during an operation carried out in the Nice hinterland.
The local MP for the 5th constituency, Christelle d'Intorni (Les Républicains), had also tabled a bill to further toughen sanctions against consumers and had spoken to this effect with the Minister of the Interior.