Albi: 16 drug users fined €500 during Cantepau operation
A police operation in Cantepau, Albi, resulted in 16 fines of €500 for drug use and 4 arrests, two of them on dealing charges.
Sixteen fined €500 in anti-drug crackdown at Cantepau
Sixteen people received a fixed penalty fine of €500 for drug use during a police operation carried out on Monday, 14 September 2026 in the Cantepau district of Albi (Tarn), according to actu.fr.
The intervention primarily targeted consumers coming to buy drugs at the district's dealing points. Several units were deployed: the anti-crime brigade, the motorised brigade, the drugs squad and the canine unit.
Fine doubled since RIPOST law
The operation follows in the wake of the RIPOST law, promulgated on 18 August 2026. This legislation notably increased the fixed penalty fine for drug use, raising it from €200 to €500.
The Tarn prefecture presents this increase as a lever to tackle the demand fuelling trafficking networks. "Buying from a dealing point means feeding trafficking," the prefecture stated, adding that the consumer faces "a high risk of seriously worsening their financial situation".
Four arrests, two on drug dealing charges
Beyond the fines, four people were arrested during the operation. Two of them are suspected of dealing in drugs. Of the other two, one was apprehended for driving under the influence of drugs and driving without a licence, and another also for driving under drugs.
One of the two suspected dealers was sentenced to four months in prison with immediate custody, accompanied by a ban from staying in the Tarn and a ban from French territory, both lasting five years. The second remained in police custody at the time of the report released by the prefecture.
118 doses seized, €650 in cash recovered
Officers seized a total of 118 doses — cannabis resin, cannabis herb and cocaine — as well as €650 in cash. Three traffic offences were also recorded and a vehicle was impounded. One person was also fined for purchasing tobacco sold illegally.
290 fines issued in Albi since the start of the year
This operation forms part of a broader strategy being pursued in the department. Since the start of 2026, 371 fixed penalty fines for drug use have been issued in the police zone in the Tarn, of which 290 were in Albi, according to prefecture figures.
The prefecture states that this pressure is "constant" and is part of a long-term approach. Two further arrests related to drug trafficking were moreover made on 13 and 14 September, with judicial proceedings still ongoing.
Disrupting networks, reassuring residents
Through these repeated operations at Cantepau, the authorities are pursuing a threefold objective: dismantling dealing points, reducing demand by sanctioning buyers, and strengthening the presence of security forces in the district. For the prefecture, it is also a matter of meeting residents' expectations in the face of nuisances and violence linked to drug trafficking.
Operations are multiplying in this area, as shown by the one carried out at the end of August in the presence of Tarn prefect Simon Bertoux.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)