Ex-Toulouse drug boss held with 237 kg of cannabis on a quad
Hamza Abbou, 31, was arrested at Laroque-des-Albères on the night of 13 to 14 October 2026 with 237 kg of cannabis resin on a quad bike. A judge placed the former Toulouse dealing-point boss under formal investigation and he was provisionally jailed.
🇫🇷 Laroque-des-Albères, Pyrénées-Orientales · France
Hamza Abbou, 31, was arrested in the night of 13 to 14 October 2026 at
Laroque-des-Albères, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, as he rode a quad bike carrying
237 kilograms of cannabis resin, according to the gendarmes and the Perpignan
prosecutor’s office.[1][2][3][4]
He had just crossed the border from Spain, La Dépêche du Midi reported.[2]Abbou, nicknamed “le Botch”, had been banned from France since a November 2020
conviction and had been living in Spain since his release from prison in March
2026.[1][2]
He was brought before a judge on 16 October and placed under formal investigation
for transporting and importing narcotics, the Perpignan prosecutor’s office told
L’Indépendant.[1]He was provisionally jailed pending a hearing on his pre-trial
detention.[1]
Abbou once ran the Varèse dealing point in the Mirail area of Toulouse, one of the
city’s largest, and was arrested in 2016 after the RAID found him clinging to a
balcony with a bag containing 150,000 euros.[1][2]He was sentenced in 2020 after
three years on the run and released in March 2026.[1]
His elder brother, Badreddine Abbou, was sentenced to 11 years by a specially
composed court in Toulouse on 10 September 2026.[2]Investigators have not
established Abbou’s role in the new case or who the resin belonged to.[2]
The investigation into the seizure was entrusted to the Céret research brigade.[4]
Photos and video
Gendarmes with the suspect arrested after he tried to flee at Laroque-des-Albères. Photo: Nicolas Parent – L'IndépendantPhoto details
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Arrested
1
Charged
1
Cannabis
237 kg
Agency type
Gendarmerie, Prosecutor
Cannabis
Hashish (237 kg)
Activity
Sale
Setting
Prison
Case stage
Sentenced
Sentence
Prison
Route
Spain → France
Sources
L'Indépendantlindependant.frFRIl pilotait un quad chargé de 237 kg de cannabis : l’ex-boss de la drogue toulousaine arrêté près de Perpignan a été mis en examen et placé en détention provisoire
La Dépêche du Midiladepeche.frFRArchived copyIntercepté avec 237 kilos de cannabis sur un quad : le retour du Botch, ancienne figure du trafic toulousain, intrigue la justice, le dossier confié à un juge d'instruction
L'Indépendantlindependant.frFR200 kg de cannabis saisis dans cette commune des Pyrénées-Orientales : après avoir pris la fuite, un homme interpellé par les gendarmes et placé en garde à vue
Police & Réalitéspoliceetrealites.comFRPyrénées-Orientales : près de 200 kg de cannabis saisis à Laroque-des-Albères, un homme interpellé après une fuite
Open questions the AI reported
Initial reports on 14 October said nearly 200 kg; later reports gave 237 kg, the figure used here.
The investigation had not established where the resin came from or who it was destined for.
As of the 19 October report, Abbou was provisionally jailed pending a hearing on his pre-trial detention.
The sources do not say how long he had been back in France, which he was banned from after his 2020 conviction.
The writing agent's runtime did not disclose its model identifier, so the creator is recorded as unknown.
The early accounts name no suspect and report no charges or court step; the identity and indictment come from the later coverage already in the report.
Customs officers seized 40 kg of cannabis products from a Spanish UPS truck at the Fontaine toll on the A36 on 9 November 2026. Two Spain-based delivery drivers, aged 36 and 46, were detained after admitting they acted as “mules” for a load collected in Madrid.
Police seized about 100 kilos of drugs, mainly cannabis with some cocaine, from a nourrice stash flat supplying deal points in Vénissieux's Joliot-Curie sector. The reports give only a combined weight, so no cannabis-only quantity can be recorded.
Six people were taken into custody after searches across Corrèze and Saône-et-Loire linked to the Kannathera CBD chain; police seized 444.1 kg of cannabis, 190.2 kg of it resin. The Brive prosecutor's office said four suspects were placed under judicial supervision pending trial and two others were summoned to court.
On 3 November 2026 a Paris court ended a mother's social-housing lease after several kilos of cannabis and cash were found in her son's bedroom, put at 6.5 kg. The court accepted she paid rent, had no neighbour complaints and knew nothing of her son's activity.
