Illustration of a gendarmerie car.

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E. Frisullo / 20 Minutes

  • Counterfeit cigarette traffickers were arrested last Friday in Nantes, Rodez and Montpellier.

  • Among them, four people were indicted and imprisoned on Sunday as part of the dismantling of a network of traffickers.

  • They are suspected of having imported 75 tonnes of contraband cigarettes.

The culmination of several months of investigation in the west of France.

Four people were indicted and imprisoned on Sunday as part of the dismantling of a network of traffickers suspected of having imported 75 tons of contraband cigarettes, the gendarmerie announced in a statement on Monday.

The investigation, which began at the end of 2020 under the supervision of the Jirs (Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction) of Bordeaux, relates to "large-scale cigarette trafficking orchestrated by a team of criminals acting over a large part of the national territory", according to a press release from the Pays de la Loire gendarmerie.

Seven arrests on Friday morning

The investigations, carried out in particular by the investigators of the research section of the gendarmerie of Nantes, made it possible to determine that they were "individuals from Eastern Europe", "particularly mobile" and using " boxes that they rent in several big cities of the national territory [Nantes, Bordeaux, Montpellier, Béziers] in order to supply local wholesalers ”.

"Seven individuals involved in this criminal structure" were arrested Friday morning in Nantes, Rodez and Montpellier, according to the press release.

Four were indicted and remanded in custody.

Import of 75 tonnes of cigarettes

“The searches carried out in various boxes made it possible to seize nearly five tons of counterfeit cigarettes.

A sum of 37,300 euros in cash is seized as well as two vehicles ”, it is specified.

In addition, "the investigation and the evidence gathered allow to establish that the traffic allowed the importation in contraband of 75 tons of cigarettes", specifies the gendarmerie.

Miscellaneous

Loire-Atlantique: Suspected of around fifty burglaries, four men arrested

Nantes

Coronavirus in Nantes: Cuba Libre nightclub sanctioned after several clandestine evenings

  • Aquitaine

  • Bordeaux

  • Languedoc-Roussillon

  • Cigarette

  • Gendarme

  • Traffic

  • Nantes

  • Gendarmerie

  • Montpellier

  • Rodez