At least 70 kilograms of cannabis were found at the home of the mayor of the French city of Avallon in the central part of the country, and searches are ongoing, BFMTV reported on Sunday, citing gendarmerie sources.
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“At least 70 kilograms of cannabis were found on Sunday, April 7, in the possession of the socialist mayor of Avallon in Yonne, Djamila Absaoui,” the TV channel said in a statement.
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The drugs were found in the annex to the mayor’s house as part of one of the anti-drug operations that had previously begun in several cities in France, BFMTV reports. Law enforcement officers had previously established that the politician’s brother was selling prohibited substances, the TV channel reports.
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This week, French authorities launched large-scale operations to combat drug trafficking in three major cities – Toulouse, Strasbourg and Nantes. Prior to this, similar operations started in six cities: Paris and a number of its environs, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Clermont-Ferrand and Dijon. Law enforcement officers made more than 1.7 thousand arrests, which is twice the stated goal. Earlier, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin reported that the police intend to detain 850 people suspected of participating in drug trafficking.
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French President Emmanuel Macron on March 19 announced an “unprecedented” operation to combat drug trafficking in Marseille amid an increase in the number of criminal clashes. Prior to this, the head of state instructed the head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Darmanen, to carry out ten operations every week to clear criminal areas of drug dealers, BFMTV television channel reported.
