Wanted man arrested over cannabis smell in Le Port; 3 officers hurt
Police in Le Port, Réunion, arrested a wanted man on 16 July 2026 after tracing a strong cannabis smell to a building stairwell; three officers were hurt when he resisted. He faced allegations of drug use, rebellion and escape and was due for an immediate-appearance trial on 20 July.
On 16 July 2026, officers from the Police-Secours brigade in Le Port intervened
in a residential building after noticing a strong smell of cannabis.[1]Following the smell to the stairwell it was coming from, the officers identified
a man wanted by the police and arrested him there.[2]The man reacted
violently at the moment of arrest and physically resisted the officers.[2]Three police officers were injured while carrying out the arrest.[1]
Police listed the allegations against him as drug use, rebellion and escape.[1]Imaz Press described the arrest as for use and possession of narcotics.[3]Officers told Imaz Press the man had been sought for several weeks for
failing to respect his semi-liberty conditions, an arrangement allowing a
detainee to spend part of the day outside detention.[3]
The suspect was due to be brought before the prosecutor on Friday 17 July.[1]He was then scheduled to stand trial under the immediate-appearance procedure on
Monday 20 July.[2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Gendarmes in Saint-Benoît, Réunion, took a man into custody on 3 October 2026 during an armed-violence inquiry and searched his home. They seized 46 zamal cannabis plants, 5.9 kg of cannabis, three firearms, 411 rounds, growing equipment and 305 euros.
Réunion gendarmes arrested a fruit and vegetable seller in front of the Roches Maigres vocational school in Saint-Louis on 26 August 2026 after watching him sell zamal, finding 1.484 kg of zamal and 16,729 euros under his stand and at his home. He faces prosecution for dealing beside a school, an aggravating circumstance.
Customs officers at Roland-Garros Airport arrested a Réunionese university student arriving from the Paris region with more than 8 kg of cannabis resin in his luggage. After custody, he was presented to the Saint-Denis prosecutor and tried on 1 July 2026 under the immediate-trial procedure.
Gendarmes arrested twelve people on 13 April 2026, seven on Réunion and five in the Paris region, after dismantling a drug network that used air mules to fly narcotics to the island. Searches found 14.3 kg of cannabis resin among the drugs, which the gendarmerie valued at more than 1.6 million euros in total.
