Major Cocaine Trafficking Ring Busted: 1.7 Tons Seized in France-Morocco Operation

The seizure took place between July 12 and August 9, 2022. Investigators from the anti-drug office (Ofast) are conducting fruitful investigations. They identified a certain Eduardo, nicknamed Dodo, who lives in the Mennecy area (Essonne), reports Le Parisien. According to his telephone communications, he travels to Martinique, the Oise and the Alpes-Maritimes, and is in contact with a Martinican moving company. Dodo regularly stays in Martinique in the company of accomplices who rent warehouses, vehicles and accommodation, but also make furniture purchases to conceal the white gold there. Dodo will be arrested at his home at the end of August 2022 and four phones will be seized. According to his explanations, he worked as a croupier and stage manager in various Parisian gaming circles.

During his interviews, he tells the investigators that in 2022 he met a client Kamel A, a professional poker player who lives in Morocco with his wife and children, nicknamed Gros, during poker games. While he was losing, the man offered him a little job in Martinique. "For a remuneration of 3,000 euros, it was a matter of taking a premises, buying furniture and doing a little DIY," he details. Thanks to "a judicial bluff", this 45-year-old man was released on Wednesday, October 2 by the Paris Court of Appeal. The trafficker’s lawyer, Tarek Koraitem, did not appear for the debate, which allowed him to obtain his client’s release. "A bit of a twisted blow because on appeal, the absence of counsel means a release," comments a source close to the case.

Localized in Spain where he is participating in a tournament, Kamel A was arrested by the local police in a hotel in Barcelona and handed over to the French authorities on September 1, 2022. In front of the judge, he denies any involvement in the traffic, we are told. Others have been arrested as part of this case. This one is far from knowing its epilogue. It will take another eight months. Additional expertise will be carried out on the exhibits.