Five drug traffickers released in Paris due to procedural flaw following drug seizure
Five suspects arrested in Paris with 4.4 kg of cannabis and 151 g of cocaine have been released due to a procedural flaw. They are expected to be recalled shortly.
Drug trafficking in Paris: five suspects freed before trial
Five individuals involved in a drugs trafficking network in the 20th arrondissement of Paris were released on Tuesday, before even being tried. The reason: a procedural flaw raised by their lawyers before the magistrates' court. The information, confirmed on Friday by a police source, was initially reported by Le Parisien and taken up by Le Figaro.
The seizure at the origin of the case dates back to 15 June. Following six months of investigation, police officers traced the operation to an apartment suspected of harbouring illicit goods. The search uncovered 4.4 kilograms of cannabis resin, 151 grams of cocaine and €5,500 in cash. Five suspects, aged between 23 and 67, were arrested and taken into police custody immediately afterwards. The operation had been launched in early January, following reports of the emergence of a new drug dealing point in this sector of the capital.
Summoned on Tuesday afternoon, the five defendants were ultimately not tried. Their lawyers challenged the legal framework within which the police custody interviews had been conducted. Georges Fenech, a former magistrate, explained on Thursday morning on CNews: "All the interviews that were conducted in police custody have been annulled insofar as those interviews were conducted under the flagrante delicto investigation regime whilst the police officers were already under the preliminary investigation regime. These interviews are therefore null as they were conducted in a legal framework that was not appropriate."
On the police side, frustration is palpable, but the case is not considered to be compromised. "It is an error on the part of our colleagues, that's true. But this is merely a postponement. It changes nothing regarding the substance of the case. The suspects will be heard again, this time in the proper framework, and they will be tried," said a Paris police officer.
The five suspects are expected to be recalled shortly by the courts, with the material evidence gathered during the search—drugs and cash—remaining part of the file.
Source: Le Figaro