12 arrested in Réunion–Paris drug network; 14.3 kg cannabis resin seized
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.
🇷🇪 Saint-Denis, Réunion (operation across Réunion and the Paris region) · Réunion
On 13 April 2026 gendarmesarrested 12 people in a coordinated operation against
a drug network running between Réunion and metropolitan France.[1][2]Seven of
the twelve were arrested on the island and five in the Paris region.[1][2]
The searches turned up 14.3 kg of cannabis resin, along with 1.6 kg of cocaine,
5.4 kg of cathinone, more than 4,200 ecstasy tablets and 19,000 euros in cash.[1][2]The gendarmerie put the resale value of the whole haul at more than 1.6
million euros.[1][2]The seven people arrested on Réunion were brought before an
investigating judge from 16 April 2026.[1]Those arrested in mainland France
were made subject to arrest warrants, meaning the Paris-region suspects were not
yet brought before a judge.[1]
The inquiry began in December 2025 at Roland-Garros airport in Saint-Denis,
where a flow-control check led to the arrest of a couple carrying nearly 37 kg
of drugs, including cannabis resin, cathinone and cocaine.[1]A judicial
investigation was opened on 21 December 2025 under the Saint-Denis prosecutor’s
office on Réunion.[1]Investigators said the network used “mules” flying the
drugs from the Paris region to Réunion, and that it was directed by a
logistician and an organiser on the island, with steering from Domenjod remand
prison.[1][2]
Investigations were led by the Saint-Denis gendarmerie anti-narcotics office and
the departmental flow-control squadron, with the national investigation unit of
the gendarmerie’s national criminal police joined in March 2026.[1]More than
100 gendarmes took part in the operation.[1]
The December 2025 airport arrest that started the inquiry involved 23.5 kg of cannabis resin, 12.3 kg of cathinone and 1.1 kg of cocaine in the couple’s two suitcases, estimated at more than 4 million euros on the local market.[2]Several vehicles and dozens of telephones were also seized alongside the cash.[2]
Photos and video
Gendarmerie handout photo illustrating the 13 April 2026 drug operation between Réunion and the Paris region. Photo: COMGENDRE / UNPJPhoto details
Réunion La 1èrela1ere.franceinfo.frFRCocaïne, "dou", résine de cannabis, ecstasy... un vaste trafic de drogue piloté depuis la prison de Domenjod démantelé à La Réunion et en région parisienne
Open questions the AI reported
No breakdown of the 1.6 million euro valuation by substance was published, so the total is recorded as the gendarmerie's estimate for all the drugs, not a cannabis-only value.
The article gives no figure for the cannabis resin found at the December 2025 airport stop, where 37 kg of mixed drugs were seized, so only the 14.3 kg from the 13 April searches is recorded.
The exact communes where the Réunion searches took place are not named; the report places the operation at Saint-Denis, where the prosecutor's office and investigating judge are based.
The statement does not name any of the twelve suspects or say what charges each faces.
No court outcome is reported: seven were presented to an investigating judge, while the five held in the Paris region were subject to arrest warrants.
The page's only photo carries no caption beyond its COMGENDRE / UNPJ credit and is not established to show the seized drugs.
Only the gendarmerie's own account could be opened; no independent second report of the operation was found.
The article also mentions a separate local dou and cocaine trafficking case uncovered the same week, explicitly described as unlinked; it is a different event left out here.
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.
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.
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.
