Gendarmes from the Clermont-l’Hérault brigade entered a house in the centre of Lacoste on the evening of Friday 22 May 2026 after being alerted by the mayor, and found an indoor cannabis plantation inside.[1] Residents of Lacoste, a village of barely 300 inhabitants above Clermont-l’Hérault, had noticed an unusually persistent acrid smell over place Bellevue that day, prompting Mayor Marc Carayon to alert law enforcement.[1] Three people were arrested over the operation after gendarmes intervened following several reports about the smell.[2]

Inside, officers found 90 cannabis plants spread across several rooms of the dwelling converted into a genuine greenhouse.[2] The installation used horticultural lamps, air extractors, an irrigation system and makeshift electrical fittings, according to the gendarmerie.[3] Officers also seized two kilograms of cannabis heads ready for consumption, along with several mobile phones, a handgun and all the production equipment.[3] On social media the Hérault gendarmerie described the rooms as a genuine indoor greenhouse with spa-like irrigation and makeshift wiring.[4]

The production site was in the village of Lacoste, home to 300 inhabitants, north of Clermont-l’Hérault.[2] The investigation was continuing to establish each person’s responsibility and the possible scale of any trafficking.[3]