The French authorities have reinforced the police presence on the beaches of the department of La Manche, in the Normandy region (north-west), upon detecting drug parcels arriving on the beaches, for a total of 2.3 tons of cocaine seized this week.
A contingent of gendarmes from the so-called Republican Security Companies (CRS, a special force that is usually in charge of riot control) has been transferred to the area to better monitor security.
“At the end of February, bags of cocaine appeared on the beaches of the Channel. The CRS arrive as reinforcements of the Navy and the Gendarmerie for keep the area safe and to onlookers outside the area,” French police tweeted.
This Thursday, the maritime prefecture of La Mancha had reported the discovery of “two bags” with “narcotic products” on the northern coast of the peninsula of Contentin.
This discovery had been preceded by the arrival of approximately 850 kilograms of cocaine on another beach last Sunday, which led to an air raid which led to the location of others “floating objects” adrift that “contained no narcotic products”.
These findings have led to further surveillance measures on the coast which will now be strengthened with the arrival of CRS troops, although their numbers have not been detailed.
“We will benefit from the strengthening of the CRS a ensure surveillance of the coast and prevent some individuals, looking for drugs, from walking along the shore in the middle of the night,” Gendarmerie lieutenant colonel Yannick Le Sausse told La Manche regional newspaper La Presse.
“We asked the Cherbourg prosecutor’s office to do it check suspicious people. It is probable that the Gendarmerie helicopter will carry out new reconnaissance flights”, added the policeman.
Since the beginning of the week, the Cherbourg prosecutor’s office has also launched an investigation to try to identify the origin of the drug.
This case represents little more than 7% of cocaine seizures in 2022 in France. According to the latest official toll, 27.7 tons of drugs were intercepted, 5% more than in 2021.
Maritime transport is the main gateway for cocaine into France, with 75.4% of the quantities seized last year.
They warn of judicial and health risks to those looking for packages
For their part, French authorities have warned people looking for parcels of cocaine on France’s northern coast, where more than 2 tonnes have already been found since last Sunday, face judicial and health risks, authorities warned Friday.
“Having one of these bags and carrying it is a crime punishable by ten years’ imprisonment,” said prosecutor Philippe Astruc. Furthermore, the use of the alkaloid poses a serious health risk.
“Currently I don’t know the degree of purity of that cocaine. But we know from experience that when it arrives in Europe, the cocaine has a degree of purity of 80% to 90%, which means that its use in the state in which it is presented is deadly,” Astruc added, according to AFP.
Source: Clarin
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