Overview
- Authorities arrested 18 suspects in coordinated raids on October 25, including 10 on Réunion and 8 in mainland France, after mobilizing about 250 gendarmes.
- On October 26, officers found 497 blocks of cannabis resin hidden in vehicles on a cargo ship at the island’s port, with an estimated market value exceeding €1 million.
- Searches recovered €162,640 in cash, 3.5 kg of cocaine, MDMA and ecstasy, 12 vehicles, a hydraulic press, electronics, a handgun and luxury goods, bringing total seizures to more than €2 million.
- Prosecutors said 17 of the 18 detainees have been brought before investigating judges since October 28, with those held on the island placed in pre-trial detention and the mainland arrestees to be transferred.
- The probe began after customs found 8 kg of high-purity MDMA in a spare wheel on October 5, 2024, leading to a May judicial inquiry and an August national investigative cell coordinating work between the island and Paris-based organizers.