Since Thursday, nine people have been on trial for drug trafficking before the Interregional Special Jurisdiction (Jirs) in Nancy. The case began unexpectedly with the discovery of a passerby who spotted the phone of one of the suspects.
President Mireille Dupont emphasized that the investigation began in an “unusual” way. This traffic, which has been active for some time, would not have decreased without the extraordinary discovery made by a passer-by on August 8, 2020: a switched-on cell phone without an unlock code, located in Rixheim near Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin).
According to investigators, the contents are beyond doubt: photos and videos of bundles of money as well as cannabis resin and herb confirm the existence of illegal trade. An investigation is launched by the Mulhouse public prosecutor’s office to find the mysterious owner.
He is quickly identified and appears to be the client who runs a real company that imports and resells drugs. He was well versed in police techniques and worked with a limited circle of relatives who helped him order and deliver several hundred kilos of narcotics each month from Morocco, Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg.
Three other people who were involved in the same human trafficking had already had to undergo an evidentiary procedure for a prior admission of guilt, a kind of French-style admission of guilt, for which penalties of between one and two years in prison were imposed.
The trial is scheduled to last until Wednesday.