The OFAST Caraïbes anti-drug office opened an investigation in June 2024 after receiving a tip about a structured trafficking operation.[1] Investigators suspect the network operated mainly between Île-de-France and Martinique in 2024 and 2025.[1] Five suspects, four men and one woman aged 23 to 39, were charged in Paris with importing and trafficking narcotics as an organised gang.[1] The group is suspected of importing more than one tonne of cannabis resin by sea to the Caribbean, with an estimated value of nearly eight million euros.[1] The article says a kilo of cannabis sells for about 3,000 euros in the Paris region compared with nearly 8,000 euros in the overseas territories.[1]

The suspected head of the network is Axel N., 32, who allegedly ran several companies based in Le Lamentin in Martinique.[1] Axel N. was already in prison at Bois-d’Arcy in Yvelines for similar offences and violence against prison officers and allegedly kept directing operations from his cell.[1] He was allegedly assisted by William E., 33, who handled logistics and moving the goods.[1] In August 2024, 421 kg of cannabis was sent to the Antilles hidden in pallets of glue and tiles.[1] A commercial unit in Corbeil-Essonnes served as the network’s rear base, while sites including the Garonor logistics zone in Aulnay-sous-Bois were used to package the drug.[1] The resin was hidden inside refrigerators placed on pallets intended for export.[1]

On 17 November 2025 ten pallets of household appliances were loaded into a container bound for Martinique, the ship left Le Havre on 28 November and docked at Fort-de-France on 7 December.[1] On arrival, officers seized 650 kg of cannabis resin and arrested several accomplices on the spot.[1] Further arrests followed in mainland France and the Antilles, including Fort-de-France, Aulnay-sous-Bois, Villejuif, Morsang-sur-Orge, Indre and the Bois-d’Arcy prison.[1] Searches recovered 27,000 euros in cash, several Rolex-type luxury watches and another 5 kg of cannabis resin.[1] The five suspects were held in custody in Versailles and then charged, with three men remanded in pre-trial detention and the woman and one other suspect released under judicial supervision.[1] The investigation is continuing to identify possible local branches and establish the exact scale of the traffic between mainland France and Martinique.[1]