Three Maltese nationals suspected of trafficking nitrous oxide within the Arc 1800 ski resort (Savoie) were arrested and placed in police custody on Wednesday, January 21, the French National Gendarmerie announced in a statement.
Following searches, law enforcement officers also seized 6,325 bottles of nitrous oxide, with an estimated market value of โฌ340,000.
The autonomous territorial brigade of Bourg-Saint-Maurice was informed by the Chambรฉry customs services on 19 January of the presence of 13 pallets of nitrous oxide in storage units rented from a company located in an industrial area of Bourg-Saint-Maurice.
After a preliminary investigation was opened, initial inquiries enabled the gendarmes to identify the routes taken by the rental vehicles involved and to locate them at the Les Arcs 1800 ski resort. This suggested โa trafficking operation between the valley,โ used as a storage site, โand the resort,โ where the traffickers were selling nitrous oxide, the gendarmes said.
Case adjourned to 23 February
After being alerted by gendarmes in Les Arcs about the presence of nitrous oxide canisters at the ski resort following a noise disturbance incident, investigators were able to establish a link with the gas stored in Bourg-Saint-Maurice. On Wednesday afternoon, they arrested three suspects and placed them in police custody.
โSearches carried out in the vehicles and the apartment of the three suspects, as well as in the storage units, led to the discovery of nitrous oxide canisters identical to those being used in Les Arcs,โ the authorities added.
The three suspects appeared before the Albertville criminal court on Monday under fast-track proceedings, but requested additional time to prepare their defence. โThe case has been adjourned to the hearing on 23 February, and the defendants have been kept in pre-trial detention until that date,โ the gendarmerie said.
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