The Nancy specialised interregional jurisdiction described the 1.3-tonne cannabis seizure in Metz and Hettange-Grande as a record.[1] On 8 June 2022 officers arrested five men aged 40 to 52 in Moselle and Spain.[2] Four of those arrested, including the alleged organiser, lived in Moselle and one lived in Spain.[1] They were placed under investigation for organised-gang importation and drug trafficking.[1] Of the five men, three were remanded in pretrial detention and the other two were placed under judicial supervision.[2]
Three of the men were travelling in cars holding 757 kg of cannabis resin and 16 kg of herbal cannabis.[2] A fourth man described as a stasher held 519 kg of cannabis resin at his home.[2] The driver of the Spanish refrigerated truck that carried the load was also arrested.[2] In total officers seized 1,292 kg of cannabis plus 396,000 euros in criminal assets.[2] The assets included 71,000 euros in bank accounts, over 30,000 euros in cash, about 115,000 euros in luxury watches and about 180,000 euros in luxury leather goods and clothing.[2]
The inquiry began with an anonymous tip about massive regular cannabis imports from Spain or Morocco by a Moselle resident aided by others.[1] Investigators found the traffickers brought the drug from Spain by Spanish truck and stored it in a warehouse at Hettange-Grande.[1] The cannabis was hidden among pallets of food, unloaded at the warehouse by several people, then moved to Metz and sold gradually.[1] The Metz judicial police, the Metz BRI intervention unit and the Metz interministerial research group handled the investigation.[2]
