Two commissioners from the Marseille Anti-Narcotics Office taken into custody

Two commissioners, heads of the Anti-Narcotics Office (Ofast) in Marseille, were taken into custody at the premises of the National Police General Inspectorate (IGPN) on Monday, June 23, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from a source close to the case, confirming information from Le Parisien. in a case of fraudulent importation of narcotics. Contacted by AFP, the National Jurisdiction for the Fight against Organized Crime (Junalco), responsible for this case nicknamed "Trident," did not immediately respond.

Three Marseille OFAST police officers have already been charged in this case, including a captain in mid-June who was subsequently placed under judicial supervision. Two other people were charged in February with drug importation and trafficking and placed in pretrial detention.

The investigations "revealed exchanges between police officers and other individuals, involving the transfer of at least 360 kilos of cocaine, outside of any hierarchical control, and the concealment of the actual quantities arriving in the country" during a controlled delivery of drugs from Colombia in February 2023, the Paris prosecutor's office announced at the beginning of April.

An investigation was launched based on an anonymous tip in February 2023, concerning the arrival of cocaine at the port of Marseille, sent in containers from Colombia, and destined for the Paris region, according to the Paris prosecutor's office.

"As part of this investigation, it had been agreed to monitor the arrival of a shipment of 180 to 200 kilos of cocaine; however, it turned out that this delivery allowed the entry into the country of nearly 400 kilos of cocaine," according to the prosecution. According to the same source, "faced with the difference between the information received and observed, the Nanterre OFAST had withdrawn from the operations" and "several players in the case were also surprised by the difficulty with which these narcotics were allegedly sold in Marseille, suggesting that the police surveillance had been uncovered."

In January 2024, the IGPN "had been informed internally of suspicions concerning the conditions of this importation" . Searches were carried out in April 2024 at the premises of the Marseille branch of OFAST. In September, Junalco took over the investigation, after the Marseille prosecutor's office had withdrawn its responsibility, and then entrusted the investigations to investigating judges on November 27.