This is the result of an investigation “conducted for several weeks” by the Avallon gendarmerie research brigade concerning drug trafficking. The mayor (DVG) of Avallon (Yonne), Jamilah Habsaoui, was placed in police custody.
“Seven people, including the mayor of Avallon and two of her brothers, were taken into police custody”, Auxerre public prosecutor Hugues de Phily told Agence France Presse. Several searches also led to the seizure of 983 grams of cocaine, 7,000 euros in cash and around twenty gold bars, he added. In addition to the elected official’s home, the town hall and her workplace, a pharmacy, were searched, said the prosecutor.
A gendarmerie source announced that an operation concerning drug trafficking in the town of Avallon had been launched on Sunday, with a series of searches carried out by the Avallon research brigade. At least 70 kg of cannabis were discovered during a search of the mayor’s home, said a source close to the investigation, confirming information from BFMTV. The prosecutor could not confirm the seizures at the mayor’s home.
A native of Avallon, Jamilah Habsaoui, 46, was elected mayor in March 2021, after having been a municipal councilor since 2014 then first deputy. She is also the delegated regional advisor in charge of rurality for Burgundy-Franche-Comté. Avallon, which has 6,000 inhabitants, is one of the two sub-prefectures of Yonne, included in the Morvan regional natural park.
Gérald Darmanin draws an initial assessment of six months of operations
Earlier today, the Minister of the Interior announced that a total of 7,177 people have been arrested since the launch of operations called “clean place”and more recently “XXL net space”against drug trafficking in France.
Police and gendarmes seized 3.6 tonnes of drugs during 482 operations, including 9 labeled “XXL”, declared the ministeri.e. an average seizure of less than 7.5 kg per operation. “Several hundred weapons and 11.3 million euros in criminal assets (were) seized”continued Mr. Darmanin.
The Ministry of Justice has, to date, not given any figures on the legal action taken against those arrested. These operations, which “mobilizing, on an ad hoc basis, considerable police resources on public roads cannot be sufficient to stem drug trafficking”thus judged the French Association of Investigating Magistrates.