The head of the Corsican judicial police, whose service is at the heart of police investigations into the management of a case of organized crime, has been transferred and his authorization as a judicial police officer (OPJ) suspended, AFP learned Thursday from corroborating sources.
"Regarding Mr. (Lucien) Arleri, the procedure is over and the suspension of his OPJ authorization for one year has been notified to him", told AFP the Attorney General at the Bastia Jean Court of Appeal. -Jacques Fagni who initiated this disciplinary procedure.
His assistant Sophie Thomas, and number 3 of the Corsican PJ Thierry Baures were also heard "in the contradictory framework", added Mr. Fagni: "The decision is in progress".
Lucien Arleri left his functions in Corsica and started on December 1 in his new post of project manager at the General Directorate of the National Police, we also learned from sources familiar with the matter.
He was replaced in the Isle of Beauty by Thierry de Maria, who had been regional director of the PJ in Limoges since May 2020, and who is due to take up his post in Ajaccio "imminently", said these sources.
THE PJ of Corsica in turmoil
Since the end of September, the PJ of Corsica has been in turmoil: it was withdrawn from the investigation into the attempted assassination of Guy Orsoni after three suspected members of the criminal gang of the "Petit Bar" escaped a shot. police net on September 28 in Ajaccio, probably due to leaks.
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The Corsican gang of the Decapitated Petit Bar
Procedural problems were also noted and would concern both the island PJ and the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime (OCLCO) based in the Paris region, said sources familiar with the matter.
One of the five indicted in this case could have made a call while in police custody using the phone of an OCLCO police officer, according to The Obs.
Listened to by the judicial police of Versailles who were investigating another case, this call was reported to the investigating judge of the specialized interregional court of Marseille who oversees the Orsoni investigation and decided to relinquish the PJ.
These discoveries led to the opening of a judicial investigation for “violation of the secrecy of the investigation” and an administrative investigation by the General Inspectorate of the National Police.