Man held in Saint-Benoît with 46 zamal plants and 5.9 kg
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.
On 3 October 2026, gendarmes from the Saint-Benoît community of brigades took a
Saint-Benoît resident into custody in an inquiry into armed violence committed
the previous day.[1][2]Officers searched the man’s home as part of that
investigation and found a greenhouse fitted out to hold dozens of cannabis
plants.[3][4]Réunion outlets refer to the seized cannabis as zamal.[3]
Officers seized 29 potted cannabis plants and 17 freshly cut plants, 46 plants
in total.[3]They also seized 5.9 kg of cannabis in various forms.[1]They
also seized indoor-growing equipment, including a UV lamp and an air extractor.[1][4]They seized two rifles fitted with scopes, one pump-action shotgun and 411
rounds of various calibres.[3]Officers also found 305 euros in cash.[1]
The man will have to answer for the trafficking before the courts.[3][4]The
gendarmerie recalled that cannabis remains a narcotic whose possession, offer or
transfer is prohibited.[1]Unlawful possession, offer or transfer is
punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a 7.5-million-euro fine.[1]
Photos and video
Gendarmerie photo of the small greenhouse filled with dozens of zamal plants found during the Saint-Benoît search. Photo: Gendarmerie de La RéunionPhoto details
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Source: Réunion La 1èreGendarmerie photo of the seized pump-action shotgun, two scoped rifles and ammunition. Photo: Gendarmerie de La RéunionPhoto details
Clicanooclicanoo.reFRSaint-Benoît : 193 pieds de cannabis découverts lors d’une perquisition des gendarmes
Open questions the AI reported
La 1ère reports more than 300 euros while Free Dom reports 305 euros; the report uses the detailed 305-euro figure.
The man's name and age were not published.
No custody outcome, charge or sentence beyond the statement that he must answer for trafficking was reported.
No street or wholesale value for the cannabis was published; the seized cash is not recorded as a drug value.
Both accounts repeat the Gendarmerie de La Réunion version; the gendarmerie's original Facebook post was not opened separately.
Zinfos974 reports 193 plants, while the existing Réunion La 1ère and Free Dom accounts report 46 plants and 5.9 kg of cannabis; the sources do not reconcile the plant-count discrepancy, so the existing figures are retained.
Left out, as its quotation was not found in Réunion La 1ère: On 3 October 2026, gendarmes from the Saint-Benoît community of brigades took a Saint-Benoît resident into custody in an inquiry into armed violence committed the previous day.
Clicanoo was published on 6 November 2026 and gives no separate raid date; the incident date follows the existing 3 October 2026 account.
No firearms, ammunition, cash weight or court outcome are given in this account.
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.
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.
