Cilaos gendarmes seize 274 zamal plants from a home garden
Gendarmes of the Cilaos brigade in Réunion seized 274 zamal plants growing in the back garden of a resident's house, next to the family pool and trampoline. The man, already known to the courts, was released from custody with a summons to a guilty-plea hearing at the Saint-Pierre judicial court on 15 September 2023.
Gendarmes of the Cilaos brigade seized 274 zamal plants, the Réunion name for
cannabis, at the home of a man already known to the courts.[1]The operation
followed the exploitation of a piece of intelligence, the gendarmerie said in a
statement published on its social media accounts.[2]The plants were growing
in the garden at the back of the house, close to the family swimming pool and
the children’s trampoline.[1]
The owner was placed in police custody after the seizure.[2]On the decision
of the Saint-Pierre prosecutor’s office he was released from custody with a
summons for a guilty-plea hearing, the French procedure known as comparution sur
reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité.[3]He is due to be judged at the
Saint-Pierre judicial court on 15 September 2023.[3]
The 274 seized plants are to be destroyed by the gendarmerie.[3]
Photos and video
The seized zamal plants laid out for the gendarmerie's photograph; the article says the 274 plants will be destroyed. Photo: Gendarmerie de La Réunion Facebook pagePhoto details
The accounts say the seizure happened "this week" (or was announced on 8 March 2023) without giving the day; 7 March 2023 is an estimate based on that.
No weight, area or street value for the 274 plants was published.
The outcome of the 15 September 2023 guilty-plea hearing was not found; no sentence is recorded.
The plant count is the gendarmerie's own figure, repeated by the outlets from the same statement.
The photo is the gendarmerie's own handout showing the seized plants; it is not established where exactly it was taken.
Gendarmes seized 156 kg of cannabis packed in 10 sacks as two men prepared to load them onto a boat on the seafront at Bras-Panon, Réunion, on 26 July 2026. Both were arrested and brought before a prosecutor; investigators say the haul was bound for Mauritius.
Gendarmes in Réunion broke up a suspected drug-importation network on 30 June 2026 after customs intercepted a US air-freight parcel holding 70 kg of cannabis resin worth over 1.7 million euros. Six people were arrested, and searches also recovered cash, cocaine and vehicles; most suspects were placed in pre-trial detention.
National police in Saint-André, Réunion, found more than 30 kg of zamal after patrolling officers were drawn to a private home by a strong smell of cannabis on 14 April 2026. An investigation was opened and no arrest or charge was reported.
Gendarmes arrested 18 people in Réunion and mainland France on 25 October 2025 and found 497 bars of cannabis resin, more than 50 kg, hidden in new vehicles aboard the Grand Hero at Port Est the next day. One suspect was a docker suspected of facilitating the imports, and the gendarmerie valued the resin at more than one million euros.
