Four deaths in one month in Nantes: north-east of city gripped by drug trafficking
A series of gang-related killings linked to drug trafficking has left four people dead in just over a month in the north-east of Nantes, leaving residents in fear.
Four deaths in one month in Nantes: north-east of city gripped by drug trafficking
An entire zone of Nantes is caught in a spiral of deadly violence. Over the course of just a few weeks, four deaths have struck the north-east of the conurbation, all linked to the activities of drug trafficking networks.
On 4 June, an 18-year-old youth was shot dead by two motorcyclists. The attackers first targeted him then finished him off with a heavy weapon. A nearby resident who witnessed the arrival of the masked killers, armed to the teeth, testified: "It really impressed me."
This tragedy is merely the latest episode in a bloody sequence. On 28 April, a first person had already lost their life. On 14 May, another death was added to the toll. On 26 May, a volley of gunfire killed a 15-year-old teenager and a 20-year-old man, in an area situated three kilometres from the 4 June crime.
The local population lives in anguish. A resident who has been living in France for fifty years is considering returning to his native country, terrified at the thought of being struck by a stray bullet. He now avoids the openings of his ground-floor flat. Another resident fears being forced to move, whilst refusing to abandon the area to traffickers.
This week, investigators carried out a major seizure: a 9 mm submachine gun, matching the projectiles found during the various crimes. An arrest was also made. These successes do not, however, mask structural difficulties. Thierry Audouin, spokesman for the Alternative police CFDT union in the department, denounces a haemorrhage of approximately 110 officers in less than twenty-four months. "We won't be able to continue like this," he warns.
The public prosecutor specified that the victim of 4 June appeared in police and judicial records for criminal antecedents.
Source: franceinfo
Source: France Info