Drug seizures on the rise in 2020, according to Gérald Darmanin (Illustration) -
AFP
Gérald Darmanin takes stock of the fight against drug trafficking, in an interview
with Le
Parisien
on Tuesday
, stressing that despite a year 2020 marked by confinement and curfew “the drug seizures were very important, sometimes even up compared to previous years ”.
The Minister of the Interior explains that at the end of one year of existence of Ofast (the office for the fight against drugs recomposed in February 2020), there were "96 tonnes of cannabis seized, including 15 tonnes for the month of November 2020 alone. Thirteen tonnes of cocaine, 1.1 tonnes of heroin and 1.2 million ecstasy tablets ”.
"The number of traffickers arrested, continues Gérald Darmanin, is also increasing sharply and the seizures of criminal assets have also increased", from "from 78 million euros in 2019 to 82 million in 2020".
450 deal points dismantled
It figures at 50,000 the number of fixed tort fines (AFD) for the use of narcotics since their creation in September, with for February “10,776 fines drawn up”.
Regarding the 3,952 deal points identified in France in September, the Minister of the Interior affirms that “450” have been dismantled.
“We are going to step up the pace,” he said.
Asked about the settling of scores, the minister explains that there is "a very strong link between this violence and drugs".
"Last year," he said, "violence between traffickers left more than 250 wounded, half of whom were under 25, and 60 dead".
"A point of deal today is between 20,000 and 80,000 euros of turnover in cash per day, the stakes are therefore very high for traffickers."
Adaptations during the pandemic
He notes that the traffickers are more armed than in the past: “In November 2019, when trafficking was dismantled, 8% of those arrested were carrying firearms.
Today it is 22% ”.
It reviews the adaptations of traffickers to transport their goods in these times of pandemic (mailing, home delivery, use of social networks, etc.)
Concerning the occupancy of building halls, Gérald Darmanin announces the “establishment in October of a system of fixed fines”.
This "will allow, he adds, to verbalize but also to register these controlled people in the file of criminal records and thus to better identify those who work as little hands in the networks".
Finally, the minister announces the launch of a "vast communication campaign" against drugs, to explain that it is "really shit".
Such a campaign had not taken place since "the beginning of the 1980s".
Montpellier
Occitanie: Are the additional police officers promised by Gérald Darmanin in Montpellier and Nîmes sufficient?
Justice
Marseille: With 300 additional police officers, Darmanin says he wants to "harass the deal points"
Drug traffic
Drug
Society
Gerald Darmanin