seven people in police custody in a new raid in Valencia, to fight against drug trafficking and clashes between gangs

In Valence, in Drôme, seven people were taken into custody on Monday, after a large operation as part of investigations carried out to combat drug trafficking.

Seven people were taken into police custody on Monday, December 18, in Valence (Drôme) as part of a dragnet operation, franceinfo learned from a source close to the matter, confirming information from Dauphiné Libéré. This new wave of arrests comes as part of investigations carried out to combat drug trafficking and attempted murder in the neighborhoods and follows a series of shootings that occurred in Valencia last spring.

During this operation – carried out by the judicial police and the BIS – weapons were seized, a bulletproof vest, ecstasy pills, a stolen scooter, and around 20,000 euros in cash.

On September 25, a police operation led to the arrest of 11 people in Valencia, suspected of being part of a group very active in drug trafficking. This group, called the “Fontbarlettes team”, is suspected of being involved in several shootings over the past two years. At the end of September, a source close to the case, contacted by franceinfo, affirmed that the people arrested constituted the “hard core” of the “Fontbarlettes team”. This is a gang which has been engaged in a bloody war for two years with the team from another district, that of the Plan.

This rivalry is at the origin of more than twenty homicides and attempted homicides over the past two years. Initially, it was a turf war to recover or conquer deal points, but this rivalry has transformed in recent months into a “pure vendetta”, according to this source.

Last April and May, a series of shootings broke out in the city, in a context of settling scores between gangs. Four people were killed and several were injured. After the second homicide, on May 12, the prefecture announced an increase in police numbers in Valencia, including the deployment on the ground of around a hundred CRS as well as zonal reinforcements.