Drug trafficking: the two bosses of the network finally extradited from Morocco to Toulouse

The investigation began following an attempted assassination that occurred in July 2021 in Saint-Alban. The investigations allowed the gendarmes of the Research Section to link this crime to a sophisticated criminal structure, piloted via the Telegram messaging service by sponsors based in Morocco. The network organized the massive importation of cocaine from Barcelona to the Toulouse region, using vehicles equipped with hydraulic hiding places. The goods were then stored in stash apartments before being redistributed or shipped by parcel throughout France.

In addition to drug trafficking, the organization had set up complex money laundering circuits, relying on false invoices and cryptocurrency flows. Cooperation with the Spanish Guardia Civil had already led to a first wave of arrests in December 2023, resulting in the seizure of more than 170 kilos of cannabis, firearms and nearly 180,000 euros in cash.

With the return of these two network leaders, extradited after the signing of a handover decree at the end of September, the case is thickening. In total, 40 people are now indicted in this sprawling case, 15 of whom are in pre-trial detention. A third leader, on the run for 18 months, had already been arrested in June 2025 on his return from Morocco. The Toulouse prosecutor specified that the hunt continues to apprehend the last suspects still on the run abroad.