Drugs and Kalashnikov found in basement of burning building in Alençon
A man in his forties was tried in Alençon after an emergency response to a residential fire revealed a stock of cocaine and an automatic weapon in the building's basement.
Drugs and Kalashnikov found in basement of burning building in Alençon
The tribunal in Alençon (Orne) examined on Wednesday 1 July 2026 the case of a 28-year-old man accused of accumulating weapons of war and a significant quantity of narcotics. The investigation that led to this hearing resulted from a fire that occurred sixteen months earlier on a street in the town.
On 29 March 2025, near Avenue du Général-Leclerc, a vehicle of German manufacture caught fire. The flames spread rapidly, affecting three private sheds before reaching a small neighbouring residential building. The accused was in the vicinity at the time, accompanied by his former partner. When she escorted the firefighters into their home, the defendant disappeared from the scene, triggering a police search.
The officers called to fight the blaze carried out an inspection of the residence. They discovered a safe containing a bundle of banknotes totalling ten thousand euros and a small quantity of cannabis resin. Pressing their investigations further, the investigators explored the building's communal basement. It was there that they uncovered a veritable criminal arsenal.
The seizures made that day comprised more than one kilogramme of white powder, identified as cocaine, along with an assault rifle of Kalashnikov type. This automatic weapon, heir to Soviet designs, is particularly sought after by criminal networks because of its firepower.
During the hearing, the defendant, present by videoconference, contested all the facts. He adopted an extremely defensive stance, claiming to be the victim of a judicial frame-up. The magistrate in charge of the prosecution described this case as a complex plot with several facets, the result of joint work by investigators from Alençon and Caen.
The simultaneous possession of narcotics in large quantities and prohibited weapons constitutes a combination particularly repressed by French courts. The presence of a Kalashnikov in this case is testimony to the armed criminality that is taking hold in certain provincial towns.
The court's decision was not communicated immediately. This case shows how a routine emergency response to a fire can reveal large-scale illicit activities concealed within a residential neighbourhood.
Source: Ouest-France
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)