Brothers Busted: Cannabis Kingpins Resurface in Paris Suburbs After Prison Release

Brahim B., 47, and his brother Lhassan, 42, are being prosecuted before the Nanterre (Hauts-de-Seine) criminal court for drug trafficking and importation, money laundering, and criminal association. Their trial will take place from September 1 to 5, 2025. Facing repeat offender charges, the two brothers, originally from Châtenay-Malabry (Hauts-de-Seine), face up to 20 years in prison. This case bears a striking resemblance to the one for which the two defendants were arrested in 2017 and then convicted two years later, as reported by Le Parisien.

At the time, the two brothers were conducting their illegal activities from the Tafoukt, a bar-restaurant in Châtenay. The shipments were stored in a warehouse in Fontenay-aux-Roses (Hauts-de-Seine), where the police had seized around 500 kilos of resin. After this seizure and the loss of the Tafoukt restaurant, Brahim B. and Lhassan B. continued their activities, respectively in Châtenay where the former resides, and in Massy (Essonne) where the latter lives. The drugs were stored in the parking lot of a residence on Jules-Verne Street in Châtenay, where a member of the network lives.

The investigators from the Territorial Security of the 92nd district began their investigations at this location, following a "tip" obtained in March 2022, less than a year after Brahim’s release from prison. The information indicated that the two brothers had resumed their activities and were storing their merchandise in the box on Jules-Verne Street, rented by a certain Tarik R. Surveillance of the premises allowed the police to confirm that the two brothers had the keys to the box. Over ten months, Brahim is said to have visited the box 78 times.

As part of these investigations, the investigators bugged Brahim’s car, a Twingo. This is how they learned about the sale of Moroccan suitcases containing around 30 kilos of "frappe" each, the existence of a truck that could hold three "meters" (a term used to refer to a ton), tens of thousands of euros recovered after a transaction, etc. These intercepted conversations also revealed that Brahim was laundering the drug trafficking proceeds by making real estate investments.

The police were able to trace a transfer of 860,000 euros to Morocco, where the two brothers are said to own one or two apartments, a business, and plan to invest in Dakhla, in the Moroccan Sahara. Between March 2022 and April 2023, Brahim and Lhassam are said to have earned millions, or even tens of millions, of euros from this trafficking, according to the investigators. The two brothers had "sellers" and counted among their clients a "semi-wholesaler" from Sartrouville (Yvelines), at whose place the police seized around 130,000 euros in cash and three grams of cocaine.