It is an extraordinary trial which opens on Monday at the Lille court. Not less than nineteen defendants, suspected of importing drugs in an organized gang, must appear all week, until Friday. An investigation, entrusted to the specialized interregional jurisdiction (Jirs) of Lille had made it possible, in April 2019, to dismantle a vast international network of drug trafficking between the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and France.
In 18 months of activity identified by the investigators, 241 automobile trips had thus been identified, to transport narcotics or money. The network operated from Roubaix using the “go fast” technique to deliver goods to Normandy, the Paris region or Alsace.
Wave of arrests
Surveillance began in October 2018 after a team of traffickers from Roubaix was spotted on several occasions in The Hague and Rotterdam, the Netherlands. In March 2019, several police operations led to a wave of arrests, especially in Spain where around 85,000 euros in cash and a gun were discovered during one of the searches.
The defendants face up to 10 years in prison, depending on the involvement of each other. Part of the case is still under investigation to determine possible responsibilities for other suspects.