Gendarmes searched a property in Saint-Benoît, on the French island of Réunion, acting in an inquiry into violence with a weapon.[1][2][3][4] The search uncovered an installation set up to produce narcotics.[1] Officers found 193 cannabis plants spread over three spaces specially fitted out for growing them.[1][5][2][3][4] The find also included dried cannabis and various pieces of equipment, notably ventilation equipment.[1][2][3] The discovery gave a new dimension to the inquiry, which had initially been opened over the armed violence.[1] After the search, the person concerned was placed in garde à vue, French police custody, on suspicion of several offences under the drug law.[1][2][3][4] Réunion outlets call the plant zamal, the local term for cannabis.[5]

The gendarmerie said the man had been placed in custody for several suspected offences under the drug legislation.[5] Beyond the three fitted-out growing spaces, officers found dried cannabis and growing and ventilation equipment.[5]

The gendarmerie recalled that growing cannabis is forbidden even at home and for personal use.[5] For unlawful use it said a person can face up to one year in prison and a 3,750-euro fine.[5] It said unlawful possession, offer or transfer carries up to ten years in prison and a 7.5-million-euro fine.[5] The gendarmerie said growing cannabis is forbidden in France even when intended for personal consumption, and said sanctions depend on the offences retained.[1] It said unlawful possession, offer or transfer of narcotics carries up to ten years in prison and a 7.5-million-euro fine.[1]

The operation is one of the gendarmerie’s actions on Réunion against drug-related offences, and investigators are to establish where the production was destined.[1]

The gendarmerie’s communication, also relayed by Imaz Press, did not specify what judicial steps followed.[4]