A semi-trailer from Spain carrying 2.5 tons of cannabis resin was arrested Friday in Martigues (Bouches-du-Rhone) and five people in police custody, it was learned Saturday at the Interregional Directorate of the Judicial Police of Marseille (DIPJ).
The five "local traffickers" , "notorious criminals" , were arrested as part of an investigation by the Central Office for the Suppression of Illicit Traffic in Narcotics (OCRTIS) and the Regional Intervention Group (GIR), said Murielle Anquet, Chief of Staff of the DIPJ. Custody may continue until Tuesday.
Already arrested in 2015
Cannabis was destined for the local market, said the source. This seizure is one of the most important carried out by the judicial police of Marseilles, underlined Mrs. Anquet. In July 2015, traffickers from Aubervilliers (Seine-Saint-Denis) were intercepted with 6 tons of cannabis in Vitrolles. Regarding the Marseille market, the last record seizure dates back to 1998 with the discovery of 3.8 tons on the port of Marseille. The Mediterranean city is regularly the scene of settling accounts between traffickers of narcotics. Since the beginning of the year, 19 people have been killed in settling accounts in the Bouches-du-Rhone, according to the figures of the Prefecture of Police in Marseille.