Major Money Laundering Network Linked to Cannabis Trade Dismantled in France

The collector’s job was to recover the money from the drug traffickers from the cannabis traffic imported from Spain by go-fast to be sold in different French regions. With the CIFA, a large shopping center located in Aubervilliers, north of Paris, made up of Chinese wholesalers of clothing and fashion accessories, he reintegrated this cash into the legal economy, and allowed the traffickers to use it. The drug money allowed him to be paid and to settle invoices corresponding to orders placed from Morocco by local merchants.

At the head of this system, a Moroccan who gives orders from the kingdom. The latter, for a commission, made his money available in France to the merchants to place orders, which allows them to avoid the often unfavorable exchange rate and taxation on imported goods, reports BFM. "Usually this kind of network is done between members of the same community, here we have individuals from different communities working together," says a police source.

The investigators managed to arrest the collector in flagrante delicto during a cash delivery. He will be indicted and then placed in pre-trial detention. "He recovered money every other day" between August 2018 and June 2019, explains a source close to the case. In total, several tens of millions of euros transited through Morocco over a year, which represents 180 collections. The police were able to seize one million euros.

The OCRGDF police also arrested six Chinese wholesalers on September 28. They were all indicted for "money laundering of drug trafficking": one was remanded in custody, the other 5 are under judicial supervision. During the searches, the investigators seized 247,000 euros in cash, 530,000 euros on bank accounts and dozens of luxury leather goods, discovered in the warehouses of these companies.