Assault rifles, cannabis, luxury cars and more than 300,000 euros were seized in Marseille as part of an operation against drug trafficking which resulted in 14 indictments, announced the prosecution. The arrests and seizures took place on Tuesday in the Cité Campagne-Lévêque, a place known to be an important deal point in the north of the city, but also in Port-de-Bouc and Châteauneuf-les-Martigues, two small towns located to the west of Marseille, in the Bouches-du-Rhône.
More indictments to come
“These files mobilized 280 police officers”, as well as six dog handlers specializing in the search for narcotics and money, but also capture dogs, including two from the national gendarmerie, said the Marseille prosecutor’s office in a press release. This vast dragnet is part of two judicial inquiries for “drug and arms trafficking, criminal association, laundering and non-justification of resources relating to the period between 2020 and March 14, 2023, acts committed in Marseille and in the Bouches-du-Rhône”, according to the same source.
The seizures include a total of sixteen long guns including assault rifles, four handguns, 37.5 kg of cannabis, 333,990 euros and six vehicles including a BMW worth 77,000 euros. Fourteen people have so far been indicted – including one placed in pre-trial detention and six others for whom this placement has been requested – but “other indictments will take place later”, detailed the prosecution.