HomeNewsBriefLarge Cocaine Seizure in France Reflects Increasing Appetite for Drugs
BRIEF

Large Cocaine Seizure in France Reflects Increasing Appetite for Drugs

COCAINE / 6 DEC 2016 BY TRISTAN CLAVEL EN

The seizure of a metric ton of Colombian cocaine and a dismantled international trafficking ring in southwest France illustrate the increasing appetite for drugs in that country.

The drugs were seized in a warehouse in the small city of Bayonne on November 30, reported 20 Minutes. Authorities said they were smuggled in a private jet.

The police operation was part of an investigation initiated in March 2016, after the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) shared information concerning a scheme to import significant amounts of cocaine to areas along the French-Spanish border.

The operation led by the Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Narcotics Trafficking (Office central pour la répression du trafic illicite des stupéfiants -- OCRTIS) also netted 600,000 euros and resulted in the arrest of ten others. Among them were four Colombian nationals, two Spanish citizens, two Dutch nationals, a Guatemalan and a French suspect, according to France Soir.

The prosecutor in charge of the case, Marie-Madeleine Alliot, said the magnitude of the seizure was "exceptional," and that the shipment had "a market value of 100 million euros" due to its high purity. Police Comptroller General Phillipe Véroni added that the bust represented "10 percent of annual cocaine seizures in France."

InSight Crime Analysis

The seizure helps illuminate a trend of rising drug consumption in France, which, along with upticks in illicit drug prices, mean more opportunity.

According to the French Observatory on Drugs and Drug Addiction (Observatoire Français des Drogues et de la Toxicomanie -- OFDT), there were 450,000 cocaine consumers in France in 2014 -- the data does not indicate the frequency of consumption -- and 2.2 million individuals who had experimented the drug.

More worryingly, the number of consumers increased to 1.1 percent of the French population aged between 18 and 24; another 5.6 percent of the adults told surveyors they had experimented with the drug. Overall, seizures of cocaine increased from 1,333 kilograms in 2000, to 10,883 in 2015; and the median price of a gram of cocaine increased from between 60 and 65 to 65 and 75 euros during the same time period.

SEE ALSO: Coverage of European Organized Crime

The trends are not limited to cocaine but extend to other drugs. Heroine seizures were 444 kilograms in 2000, and reached 818 kilograms in 2015, after peaking at 1,118 kilograms in 2008.

share icon icon icon

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

What are your thoughts? Click here to send InSight Crime your comments.

We encourage readers to copy and distribute our work for non-commercial purposes, with attribution to InSight Crime in the byline and links to the original at both the top and bottom of the article. Check the Creative Commons website for more details of how to share our work, and please send us an email if you use an article.

Was this content helpful?

We want to sustain Latin America’s largest organized crime database, but in order to do so, we need resources.

DONATE

Related Content

COLOMBIA / 21 MAR 2022

A top Colombian drug trafficker walked out of a maximum-security prison in Bogotá without ever being challenged, exposing deep-seated corruption…

COCAINE / 28 OCT 2022

Murders in Esmeraldas, northern Ecuador, have exploded. Gangs battling for control of drug trafficking routes are to blame.

COCAINE / 8 NOV 2021

Cocaine, synthetic drugs, weapons, migrants, gasoline - this range of criminal economies has seen violence escalate in Mexico's northern state…

About InSight Crime

THE ORGANIZATION

Venezuela Coverage Receives Great Reception

27 MAY 2023

Several of InSight Crime’s most recent articles about Venezuela have been well received by regional media. Our article on Venezuela’s colectivos expanding beyond their political role to control access to…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime's Chemical Precursor Report Continues

19 MAY 2023

For the second week in a row, our investigation into the flow of precursor chemicals for the manufacture of synthetic drugs in Mexico has been cited by multiple regional media…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Chemical Precursor Report Widely Cited

THE ORGANIZATION / 12 MAY 2023

We are proud to see that our recently published investigation into the supply chain of chemical precursors feeding Mexico’s synthetic drug production has been warmly received.

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime’s Paraguay Election Coverage Draws Attention 

5 MAY 2023

InSight Crime looked at the various anti-organized crime policies proposed by the candidates in Paraguay’s presidential election, which was won on April 30 by Santiago Peña. Our pre-election coverage was cited…

THE ORGANIZATION

InSight Crime Cited in OAS, CARICOM Reports

28 APR 2023

This week, InSight Crime’s work was cited nine times in a new report by the Organization of American States (OAS) titled “The Impact of Organized Crime on Women,…