Residents of a Toulouse condominium are grappling with a drug dealing crisis, as dealers dominate their neighborhood, conducting transactions near homes. Fear and frustration grow as locals encounter dealers in their gardens and witness alarming activities, including drug stashing. Parents express concern over the proximity of dealers to a kindergarten, while police efforts to manage the situation face challenges, with calls for closing access to nearby parks rejected by city officials.
Drug Dealing Crisis in Toulouse Condominium
In a private condominium located in Toulouse, Haute-Garonne, residents are facing an alarming situation as drug dealers have taken over their neighborhood. Our discreet camera footage reveals the unsettling scene as, at dusk, groups of dealers position themselves at the entrance, keeping a watchful eye. The walls are marked with painted arrows, guiding customers to the transaction site just a few meters away.
This ongoing trafficking operation is disturbingly close to a cluster of around ten homes. For the last two months, the lookouts have been asserting control over a nearby dead end, as described by a local resident: “They set up barriers and monitor who comes in and out.”
Residents’ Fear and Frustration
“It’s incredibly uncomfortable to encounter dealers in your own garden,” shares a Faourette neighborhood resident. Another local adds to the growing concerns: “They often stash drugs in the bushes, and sometimes it’s hidden in and around cars.” In some cases, residents have even found dealers fleeing into their homes to escape police pursuit. “They jump from garden to garden, and it’s very distressing to confront them in your own space,” she laments.
The situation has become unbearable for some, like Léa, who is contemplating moving away: “They scream continuously, day and night. I try to avoid going outside; it’s simply not a livable environment.” One evening, while we were filming, the lookouts alerted their peers about police presence by shouting. The neighborhood’s layout complicates law enforcement efforts, as noted by another resident: “By the time police arrive in the dead end, the dealers have already fled through the park.”
Residents are advocating for the closure of the passage between the condominium and the park. However, the Toulouse city hall has rejected this proposal, stating, “Faourette park is well-frequented by families; thus, we cannot close this public access.”
The condominium is not the sole victim of this drug dealing issue. Lookouts are stationed merely ten meters from a nearby kindergarten, raising alarm among parents: “There have been threats if we see them or if our children witness something. It’s frightening. To evade police, some even entered the school and tossed drugs into the playground. It’s terrifying to think about a child coming across that. As a mother, I wish they would be removed from the area.”
In response, police assure the public of their presence, with approximately twenty officers consistently deployed in the vicinity. “Our officers make arrests daily and frequently dismantle networks. However, we feel like we’re trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon, much like in other major cities,” expresses Grégory Hemous, deputy departmental secretary of the Alliance union.
While law enforcement believes that closing the passage may disrupt the dealing, they acknowledge that it could simply shift the problem elsewhere.