Almost five years of investigation… The Zonal Directorate of the Eastern Judicial Police (DZPJ) announced on Wednesday the dismantling of cocaine trafficking organized by a Nigerian from the Haut-Rhin. This led to the seizure of 57 kilos of drugs and 130,000 euros, and the conviction of four traffickers.
The investigation was opened at the end of 2016 on the basis of information transmitted by a Spanish liaison officer, which reported transfers of cocaine from Colombia to Mulhouse airport. Research revealed the existence of a “Nigerian network”, the leader of which was based in Huningue and had “ramifications in France, Switzerland and Germany”. “From the passage in his own body to the soles and luggage, all means (were) used to transport the precious white powder,” said the DZPJ East in a press release.
A laboratory in the heart of Mulhouse
In May 2019, two men were first arrested during a transaction involving “seven loaves of cocaine”. Searches were then carried out in the “cutting laboratory” and the “storage place”, located “in the city center of Mulhouse”, where 50 additional kilos of cocaine had been discovered.
On July 1, the Nigerian sponsor and his three accomplices were all sentenced to terms ranging from four to ten years in prison, confiscation of part of their heritage, and ban on stay on French territory. The head of the network, who had not returned to France after a stay in Nigeria, is the subject of an arrest warrant.