French authorities seized 156.7 tons of drugs in 2022, announced on Wednesday 1er March, the Minister of the Interior, Gérald Darmanin. “The fight against drug trafficking is more than ever the mother of all battles”hammered Mr. Darmanin during a joint press conference alongside the Minister of Justice, Eric Dupond-Moretti, and that of public accounts, Gabriel Attal.
In detail, 128 tons of cannabis were seized (+ 15% compared to the previous year), including 87.6 tons in the form of resin and 41 tons of grass, which represents a record at “no comparable level”, according to the Minister of the Interior. In 2022, 27 tonnes of cocaine (+5%) were seized, 55% of which came from the West Indies and Guyana. “We must prevent this white tsunami from reaching our shores”said Gabriel Attal.
Seizure of “historic” cocaine in the port of Le Havre
The Minister of Public Accounts, responsible for customs, announced that a seizure of cocaine “historical” was carried out on February 19 by its services in the port of Le Havre, with 1.9 tonnes of powder intercepted in a few days. He said the government would not show “neither angelism nor cowardice” to combat drug trafficking.
Overall, 80% of the drugs seized in France arrive by sea. The port of Le Havre (Seine-Maritime) is the main gateway, via the some three million containers that pass through it each year.
Gérald Darmanin is committed to multiplying by three, by the end of the year, the workforce of the Anti-Narcotics Office (Ofast) in Le Havre, bringing them to twenty-five, against eight currently.
“In corpore” scanner at Orly airport
Like politics “100% checks” put in place at Cayenne airport in Guyana, from where the “mules” carrying cocaine depart, reinforced checks will also be carried out when flights arrive in Paris, said Mr. Darmanin. A scanner “incorporated” will be installed at Orly airport this year, he added.
Finally, 1.4 tonnes of heroin (+ 8%) and 273 kilos of amphetamines and methamphetamines (+ 21%) were seized in France in 2022.
Last year, there were 37,593 convictions for drug trafficking, up 10% from 2019, said the Minister of Justice. “Drug trafficking is everyone’s business. There are not only careless consumers, it can generate death and blood”argued Eric Dupond-Moretti, alluding to the settling of scores and other violence generated by drug trafficking.
In view of the extent of international traffic, the Minister of the Interior will visit “a month, a month and a half” in the United Arab Emirates, whose capital, Dubai, is one of the favorite haunts of the heads of criminal networks, in order to strengthen cooperation with this country for their arrest and extradition.
In addition, Gabriel Attal announced the presentation in April of a bill on customs in the Council of Ministers in order to secure the search powers of agents, censured by the Constitutional Council, and to increase their means of action.