Gendarmes seize 73 zamal plants in a Sainte-Rose resident's garden
Gendarmes of the Sainte-Rose brigade seized 73 young zamal plants, about a metre tall, growing in the garden of a resident of the commune on Réunion, pulled them up for destruction and said the man would be tried in Saint-Denis. Announcing the case, the gendarmerie said its officers had found more than 2,500 zamal plants across the island since the start of 2015.
Gendarmes of the Sainte-Rose brigade intervened at the home of a resident of the
commune who was growing zamal, the Réunion name for cannabis, and seized 73
plants there.[1]The gendarmes found the plants in the resident’s garden
during the week of 20 April 2015, according to Réunion La 1ère.[2]The plants
were juveniles about one metre tall, and the gendarmes pulled them up and said
they would be destroyed shortly.[2]The amateur gardener was questioned and is
to be tried by the criminal court of Saint-Denis, Réunion’s capital.[2]
Announcing the seizure on its Facebook page, the gendarmerie of La Réunion said
its officers had discovered more than 2,500 zamal plants across the department
since the start of 2015.[1]Réunion La 1ère put the island total at 2,500
plants seized since the start of 2015.[2]Zamal is the Réunion name for
cannabis, whose cultivation, sale and possession are illegal in France.[2]
Photos and video
Photo captioned 2500 pieds de zamal saisis depuis le début de l’année on the LINFO.re report of the Sainte-Rose seizure, linked to the Réunion gendarmerie's announcement. The caption does not state whether it shows the Sainte-Rose garden.Photo details
The accounts give no separate date for the raid; 23 April 2015 is the date of the gendarmerie's Facebook announcement and of LINFO.re's publication, and is used as the incident date.
Réunion La 1ère places the seizure at the start of the week of 20 April 2015 and gives no exact day.
LINFO.re says the 2,500 plants were discovered since the start of the year, while Réunion La 1ère says they were seized; the island-wide total is not treated as this event's figure.
No weight, area or street value was published for the 73 plants.
Neither account reports an arrest or a custody measure; Réunion La 1ère says only that the grower was heard and will be tried by the Saint-Denis criminal court, with no date or outcome.
The LINFO.re photo is captioned only with the story headline and does not confirm that it shows the Sainte-Rose garden.
Zinfos974 published its own account of the same seizure on 23 April 2015, but it could not be opened, so it is not cited.
Gendarmes seized 156 kg of cannabis packed in 10 sacks as two men prepared to load them onto a boat on the seafront at Bras-Panon, Réunion, on 26 July 2026. Both were arrested and brought before a prosecutor; investigators say the haul was bound for Mauritius.
Gendarmes in Réunion broke up a suspected drug-importation network on 30 June 2026 after customs intercepted a US air-freight parcel holding 70 kg of cannabis resin worth over 1.7 million euros. Six people were arrested, and searches also recovered cash, cocaine and vehicles; most suspects were placed in pre-trial detention.
National police in Saint-André, Réunion, found more than 30 kg of zamal after patrolling officers were drawn to a private home by a strong smell of cannabis on 14 April 2026. An investigation was opened and no arrest or charge was reported.
Gendarmes arrested 18 people in Réunion and mainland France on 25 October 2025 and found 497 bars of cannabis resin, more than 50 kg, hidden in new vehicles aboard the Grand Hero at Port Est the next day. One suspect was a docker suspected of facilitating the imports, and the gendarmerie valued the resin at more than one million euros.
