To eradicate bedbugs, a product has appeared in certain neighborhood grocery stores: Sniper. However, it is a toxic insecticide: banned for sale in France and Europe, it is responsible for 163 serious poisonings, and in some cases fatal.
It is an insecticide banned in France, causing increasing numbers of poisonings since its use against bedbugs. According to a report from ANSES (National Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health Safety), since 2018, the Sniper has caused 163 cases of serious poisoning, sometimes fatal. This product, which can cause neurological disorders and respiratory symptoms, nevertheless remains easy to obtain, on market stalls or in bazaars.
A team of “Special Envoy” was able to purchase them without difficulty in a working-class neighborhood in the north of Paris. Even if no one seems to be unaware that it is illegal, the white bottle is sold there, for around ten or fifteen euros, as a miracle product to eradicate bedbugs. In the four stores that journalists visited, none of the sellers made any mention of the dangerousness of its contents.
On the ground with a fraud prevention brigade
Now in the sights of state services, the insecticide is sought by the fraud prevention brigades. Exceptionally, “Special Envoy” was authorized to follow two of his agents in the field, as part of an investigation aimed at tracing the network and establishing sanctions. So that they cannot be identified (they always start by posing as simple customers), you will not see their faces.
In a store where they are handed a bottle of Sniper, they uncover around fifteen others, hidden behind the counter. The boss faces two years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros. Immediately, he is required to put up a poster warning of the dangerousness of the product.
After several seizures of small quantities, the day’s harvest will turn out to be rather large. In 2023, 400 bottles of Sniper were seized by fraud enforcement throughout France. A drop of water, but perhaps as many accidents avoided…
Excerpt from “The hell of bedbugs”, a broadcast report in “Special Envoy” on January 11, 2024.
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