Paris customs seize 7.1 tonnes of cannabis from parked vans
French customs seized 7.1 tonnes of cannabis worth at least 15 million euros from three vans parked in Paris's 16th arrondissement on the night of 17 to 18 October 2015, the largest such haul in the capital, with no arrests yet made.
French customs officers seized more than seven tonnes of cannabis from three
vans parked in an upmarket area of Paris on the night of 17 to 18 October
2015.[1][2]The 7.1 tonnes, found in big bags in the boots of the vans in the
city’s 16th district, were valued at at least 15 million euros, in the biggest
cannabis haul Paris had seen.[2]President François Hollande visited the
customs intelligence unit’s headquarters to congratulate the officers, calling
the seizure one of the biggest ever made in the capital.[1][2]
The discovery followed a weeks-long investigation by the National Directorate of
Customs Intelligence and Investigations (DNRED).[2]The vans were hired
vehicles with French number plates, parked on an arterial boulevard for more
than a week, and a fourth empty van stood nearby.[2]A local resident raised
the alarm after noticing the vans sitting there.[2]An initial police
statement said the cannabis had come from Morocco and probably transited
through Spain.[1][2]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Europol-coordinated Operation TorNado led to 23 arrests in France and the seizure of 50 kilograms of cannabis there, as part of 354 arrests and hundreds of house searches across 14 countries between May 2025 and October 2026. The cannabis was one substance among a multi-drug haul dominated by amphetamines, ketamine, MDMA and cocaine.
Prison staff at Riom found just under 450 grams of cannabis on a detainee after exercise-yard searches on 10 November 2026. The FO Justice union described it as one of the largest seizures since the prison opened in 2016.
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.
