The plantation was complicated to find.
“The suspects were on guard all the time, making U-turns and several rounds of roundabouts to check if they were being followed,” says a person close to the case.
Tuesday morning, after months of investigation, the Val-de-Marne judicial police kicked in the anthill by arresting eight suspects, aged between 30 and 45, in eastern Val-de-Marne and in Seine-et-Marne.
These cannabis producers, grown on a farm in Limoges-Fourches (Seine-et-Marne), and wholesale dealers are currently in police custody for criminal conspiracy and drug trafficking.
Assault and precision rifles discovered
In addition to the merchandise, with more than 2,700 plants found, the hundred mobilized police officers, including “reinforcements from 36, the Research and Intervention Brigade, and several dog brigades”, as a source recalls, came across a disturbing collection of weapons.
“He is apparently a collector, but it remains worrying,” adds a person close to the case.
The police notably got their hands on an AK47, the classic Kalashnikov, and also two assault rifles, precision rifles and several handguns.
Initially, several months ago, investigators only had one small thread to pull, namely the suspicious activities of a well-known man already convicted of growing cannabis.
Checks quickly lead the police to a simple conclusion.
The man is being far too careful to have parked cars since his last conviction.
Shadowing, scouting, targeting of those around them, telephone surveillance… the officials carry out long-term work without, apparently, succeeding in finding the farm.
“For at least 100,000 euros of equipment”
Finally, after complex spinning, they discovered their farm a few days ago, an apparently quiet farm, in Limoges-Fourches, a stone's throw from the prefectural town of Melun.
The searches in “this kind of large hangar”, as one source describes it, only confirmed the scale of production.
In addition to the thousands of plants, the police got their hands on nearly 20 kg of marijuana, “only buds,” says someone close to the case, “well packaged in heat-sealed bags.”
Some of the merchandise was also found at the suspects' homes.
To be sure of having quality and regular production, the boss would have secured the services of real gardeners.
“There were plants at different stages of maturity,” explains a source.
To be as discreet as possible, “they had tarpaulins on the ground floor and well insulated the roof to avoid being spotted by a thermal camera”.
Obviously inside, they got their hands on the paraphernalia of the sometimes cultivator with an ventilation system and extremely powerful solar lamps.
“There was at least 100,000 euros worth of materials,” estimates a source.
During the searches, nearly 50,000 euros in cash were seized as well as several cars, luxury watches and a house.
The men of the judicial police will try to find out how long this small company has been delivering weed, apparently mainly in Val-de-Marne.
“There are still a lot of elements to verify,” says a regular in these cases.
As for all the seized drugs, they were incinerated at the end of the day, once the samples and other analyzes had been carried out.
The suspects could be brought before the investigating judge, heading this investigation, on Friday after 96 hours in police custody.