Seven people indicted in Lyon, suspected of being involved in vast trafficking in weapons of war between the Balkans and France

The arrest of a man in August 2023 launched investigators from the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime on the trail of trafficking of international dimension.

Seven people are indicted in Lyon, suspected of being involved in vast trafficking in weapons of war between the Balkans and France, franceinfo learned on Wednesday June 12 from a source close to the matter. These seven people, of French and Bosnian nationality and aged between 27 and 41, were arrested in two stages, in March and on June 3 and 4, adds this source. Four of these people are placed in pre-trial detention, the others placed under judicial supervision.

All these people are suspected of having, each at their level, allowed the transport of numerous weapons of war between several Balkan countries – Bosnia-Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro – and Haute-Savoie. Once arrived, the weapons were scattered throughout the Lyon region. The investigation is being conducted by the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime (OCLCO) and the Haute-Savoie judicial police, under the authority of the specialized interregional jurisdiction (JIRS) of Lyon.

According to information from franceinfo, the investigation began on August 8, 2023 when a man was arrested in Aix-les-Bains (Savoie) after refusing to comply. In the trunk of his car, the police discovered weapons of war: a Kalashnikov, magazines, and also five grenades. This man is placed in police custody and indicted for “possession, transport of weapons of war and criminal conspiracy” in September 2023 after the opening of a judicial investigation. Initially in charge of the investigation, the Chambéry public prosecutor’s office relinquished responsibility in favor of the JIRS of Lyon a few days later.

Because in the meantime, the information collected by the police leads them to believe that these weapons come from the Balkans and that they are dealing with international trafficking. This is why the OCLCO and the Haute-Savoie PJ are now leading the investigation. Then begins a lot of telephone work on the entourage of this first man implicated. Surveillance also begins to find out the routes and habits of traffickers.

The police thus realize that trafficking only takes place by road, the weapons of war are hidden in caches in trucks, or in the trunks of cars, and each time in small quantities to pass under the radars of the police. the police. Because, indicates a source close to the investigation, this type of trafficking is not modeled on drug trafficking: demand is not just in time and the risks incurred during arrests are higher. Thus, traffickers act on an ad hoc basis, organizing a few convoys per year.

Finally, the investigation shows that the weapons found their destination in Haute-Savoie, and a man in particular interests the investigators. He is considered as “a central element” of this trafficking, in connection with the man arrested in August 2023. This man, considered to be the organizer of the trafficking, was finally arrested in Haute-Savoie on March 17, 2024, in the company of two women from his family, suspected of have a logistical role in traffic. During the search, the police discovered eight Kalashnikovs, a submachine gun with magazine and numerous ammunition. This man is placed in pre-trial detention, the two women placed under judicial supervision.

A second phase of arrests took place on June 3 and 4, particularly in Isère and the Rhône. Four men were then arrested: a thug from the Lyon region caught red-handed in October 2023 while buying weapons. A man who accompanied him during this purchase, another suspected of being one of his accomplices and finally a man suspected of being linked to the trafficker arrested in March.

Ultimately, seven people were indicted in this case, four of whom were placed in pre-trial detention. For divisional commissioner Guillaume Maniglier, deputy head of the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime (OCLCO), “this affair reveals the persistence of trafficking in weapons of war from the wars in the former Yugoslavia.” This policeman points “a known phenomenon”, but whose persistence proves that the stocks of weapons of war in these countries are still very significant. According to a source close to the matter, these weapons are purchased locally for 250 to 300 euros and resold in France for between 2,500 and 3,500 euros each. In this case, the judicial investigation remains open, investigations are continuing in particular to find out if other people are involved.