Touho gendarmes identified a father, his son and his son’s wife, all residents of the Koé tribe, as the family behind the case.[1] The three admitted running the cannabis traffic from early 2022 through 30 September 2026.[1] They were held in custody and then brought before the prosecutor’s office under the guilty-plea procedure of comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité, in which they admitted the facts.[1] The penalties proposed by the prosecution were accepted by the three defendants and then approved by a judge.[1] Two of them received 18 months’ imprisonment with 6 months suspended, with one ordered to pay a 400,000-franc fine and the other placed on a two-year probationary suspension including 140 hours of community service plus work or training and fine-payment obligations.[1] The third defendant received 18 months’ imprisonment with 8 months suspended plus a 400,000-franc fine.[1] The custodial portions were not enforced immediately, with the prosecution linking that decision for two of the convicted to their lack of prior convictions.[1]

The investigation began with a tip about herbal cannabis dealing conducted mainly around the Touho high school, which put gendarmes on the three suspects’ trail.[1] During the search, gendarmes found 988 cannabis plants along with growing equipment.[1] Officers also seized 12,395 francs in cash.[1] The prosecution estimated the resale attributed to the three at 3.66 million francs, and a motorboat and other equipment were seized and then confiscated as criminal assets.[1]

The three were convicted on Friday 2 October.[1] Nearly 1,000 plants were discovered during the search.[1]