Drugs: the Minister of the Interior announces a clear increase in seizures in Ile-de-France

Europe 1 with AFP 10:43 p.m., November 14, 2021

Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin praised Sunday in Argenteuil (Val-d'Oise) the "very impressive figures" obtained by the police in Ile-de-France in the fight against drugs, one of his priorities since his arrival in Beauvau. The authorities record an explosion of seizures, all substances combined, in this region, the main territory plagued by traffic with Marseille. Over the first ten months of the year, cannabis seizures in Ile-de-France increased by 20% compared to the same period last year, with 14 additional tonnes intercepted. "It is completely new", greeted Gérald Darmanin, during a visit to the Argenteuil police station.

Cocaine seizures rise by 80%, with an additional seven tonnes seized in the region.

Those of heroin and ecstasy increased by 35% and 17% respectively.

The number of traffickers sent behind bars is also increasing significantly: since the start of the year, 9,732 people have been imprisoned for offenses related to drug trafficking in Ile-de-France, an increase of 40 %.

Of the 3,952 deal points identified in France by the Interior at the end of 2020, 384 were "definitively eliminated", including 87 in Ile-de-France, assured Gérald Darmanin.

587 additional police and gendarmes in Argenteuil

Asked whether the authorities are observing tangible signs of destabilization of drug trafficking, such as an increase in the prices of various drugs or a drop in their purity, Gérald Darmanin argued that "urban violence" such as that observed recently in Alençon ( Orne) after an arrest, was a reaction demonstrating the "nervousness" of the traffickers. There is also "a small increase in the selling price" of narcotics, he assured, without quantifying it or specifying the substances concerned. "We have to erase the dealers from the bottom of the buildings, but there is still a lot of work," said Gérald Darmanin.

During a meeting with Argenteuil police officers, the minister acknowledged that the task was immense and could give "the impression of emptying the sea with a spoon".

To continue this fight against drug trafficking, which Gérald Darmanin has made a priority of his action, the minister announced police reinforcements for the region.

In the next seven months, 587 additional police and gendarmes, including "nearly 50 police officers" in Argenteuil, will be assigned to Ile-de-France, he detailed.

A figure which is added according to him to the 958 additional members of the police force deployed in the region since the beginning of the quinquennium.