The mayor of Avallon, in Yonne, was placed in police custody after the discovery of at least 70 kg of cannabis resin at her home, we learned from the prosecution and a close source of the investigation.
“Seven people, including the mayor of Avallon and two of her brothers, were taken into police custody”indicated Sunday April 7 the public prosecutor of Auxerre, Hugues de Phily.
Several searches
Several searches carried out as part of an investigation “conducted for several weeks” by the Avallon gendarmerie concerning drug trafficking also led to the seizure of 983 grams of cocaine, €7,000 in cash and around twenty gold bars, he added.
In addition to the home of the various left-wing elected official, the town hall and her place of work, a pharmacy, were searched, underlined the prosecutor. At least 70 kg of cannabis were discovered during a search of the mayor’s home, said a source close to the investigation. The prosecutor was unable to confirm these seizures from the mayor’s home.
A native of Avallon, Jamilah Habsaoui, 46, was elected mayor in March 2021 of this town of 6,000 inhabitants, after having been municipal councilor since 2014 then first deputy. She is also the delegated regional advisor in charge of rurality for Burgundy-Franche-Comté.
« Place nette XXL »
According to a source close to the matter, the gendarmerie operation was launched as part of a vast national anti-drug campaign called « Place nette XXL » officially launched at the end of March by President Emmanuel Macron in Marseille.
It was preceded in October by a series of operations called “clean place”. To date, 7,177 people have been arrested, Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin announced on Sunday. The Ministry of Justice has not, to date, given any figures on the legal consequences of these arrests.
These operations, which “mobilizing, on an ad hoc basis, considerable police resources on public roads cannot be sufficient to stem drug trafficking”judged the French Association of Investigating Magistrates.