French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin on Monday (Mar 25) announced multiple new anti-drug raids across the country, terming them as “XXL cleanup operations”.
Darmanin said that police units conducted raids and also arrested several people in various cities such as Lille, Villeneuve-d’Ascq and Roubaix.
He stated that in the coming days, the authorities were “going to multiply the operations that we have prepared for months to hit very hard.”
The French minister took to his official X handle and wrote that the operations would proceed with the inspections and searches of residential buildings. He then stated that the operation’s initial raid took place in Marseille last week.
The efforts are a part of the government’s broader crackdown on drug trafficking across France ahead of elections for the European Parliament that are scheduled from June 6 to June 9.
Marcon vows 10 similar operations in the coming weeks
During his recent visit to the southern port city of Marseille, which is often linked to the drug trafficking menace, French President Emmanuel Macron vowed that 10 such operations would be executed in the coming weeks.
He launched a major operation against the narcotics trade in Marseille and other French cities stating that the gangland battles that had claimed the lives of many in the past, had made it miserable for the people residing in those particular areas.
“In Marseille and other cities in France, we have launched an unprecedented operation to put a stop to drug trafficking and ensure republican order,” Macron wrote in a post on X.
He asserted that the operations would ensure an “XXL” cleanup.
Approximately 900 police and customs officers were deployed in Marseille and the Bouches-du-Rhone region on the first day of the operation, news agency AFP reported citing local authorities.
In the first three days of the operation, nearly 22 kilogrammes of drugs, over 385,000 euros and four weapons were seized and 71 people were placed in custody.
(With inputs from agencies)
