A man was taken into custody after being arrested this Wednesday evening on the A9, in the Pyrénées-Orientales, driving a van carrying 1.3 tonnes of cannabis pollen.
Posted
Reading time : 1 min.
:quality(50)/2023/07/20/64b90aa508fc5_douanes.jpg)
1,300 kilograms of cannabis pollen were seized from a van on the evening of Wednesday July 19 on the A9 motorway, franceinfo learned Thursday July 20 from a police source. The driver of the vehicle from Spain had just been guilty of refusing to comply at the Boulou toll gate in the Pyrénées-Orientales.
>> Alpes-Maritimes: more than 600 kg of cannabis pollen hidden among sheep’s wool were seized, announces customs
On Wednesday July 19, around 11:50 p.m., police officers positioned at the Boulou tollbooth wanted to check a van traveling in the Spain-France direction. At the sight of the device, the driver accelerated and fled, immediately pursued by the police.
According to information from France Bleu Roussillon, the man drove for half an hour despite his four tires being punctured by a vehicle interception device. He was finally stopped and arrested in the streets of Perthus, just before the Spanish border.
An estimated amount of 13 million euros for resale
Inside the van, the police found 35 suitcases containing 1,300 kilograms of cannabis pollen, a police source told franceinfo. A considerable amount, the pollen was much more concentrated in THC than other cannabis derivatives. The goods are also estimated at 13 million euros for resale. The driver also had 13,605 euros on him.
The suspect was taken into custody. Very unfavorably known to the police, he is considered a “big hat”according to information gathered by France Bleu Roussillon.