Two men aged 19 and 24 were charged and imprisoned on Sunday for the burning of four police vehicles in Cavaillon (Vaucluse), where an anti-drug operation was taking place, the Avignon prosecutor announced on Monday, October 14.
The two suspects, from the Paris region, were arrested on October 9, the same day of the fire, and the investigation ” allowed establishing links between the arson and several drug trafficking arrests made between 1Ahem and on October 9 in the same town of CavaillonAvignon prosecutor Florence Galtier said in a press release.
On the night of October 8 to 9, three screen-printed police cars and one unmarked vehicle, parked in front of the Cavaillon police station, were completely destroyed by the fire that caused no injuries, but significantly damaged the facades of the police station and the building. . a neighboring real estate agency.
According to a representative of the Alianza police union, three police officers, present at the police station at the time of the fire, had been “terrified”. An investigation was immediately opened for destruction of property by dangerous means, by an organized gang, to the detriment of a public authority holder. These are criminal acts punishable by twenty years in prison and/or a fine of 150,000 euros, M recalled on Monday.me Galtier.
According to a source close to the case, the two suspects were known to the police and had already been arrested in September as part of another investigation for “burglary and drug possession.” According to this same source, “clothes with traces of hydrocarbons” They were found during a search, allowing a possible link to be established with the burning of the police cars. Laboratory analyzes have “confirmed these elements”according to the source, who specifies that the two men denied the facts during the hearing.
Operation “clean space”
This fire, which occurred in the middle of a “cleanup” operation against a local drug sales point, provoked strong reactions. The interdepartmental director of the national police, Emmanuel Desjars de Keranrouë, estimated that the“ stroke “ probably fell low “Retaliation for police action” against drug trafficking in this town of just over 25,000 inhabitants.
As part of this “cleansing” operation in recent weeks, 25 people have been detained by the police, “20,000 euros seized, 15 kilos of cannabis, 6 kilos of cocaine, a dozen weapons, long weapons, pistols also seized”he clarified.
“The State will not be intimidated and we will intensify our fight against drug trafficking”reacted the Minister of the Interior, Bruno Retailleau, who announced the dispatch of the Republican Security Company (CRS) 81, specialized in emergency situations. The delegate minister in charge of daily security, Nicolas Daragon, was also in Cavaillon on October 10.
According to the prefect of Vaucluse, Thierry Suquet, a first unit of the CRS 81, composed of about forty men, had arrived in Cavaillon on the afternoon of the 9th, and a second was expected the following day. When asked on Monday if these reinforcements were still present, the prefecture did not immediately respond.
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In the southeast, Marseille, a port city, is historically a trafficking area, especially drugs. But in recent years, medium-sized cities have seen an increase in traffic and the accompanying violence, especially along the Rhône Valley, and especially in Vaucluse, Avignon, Cavaillon and Carpentras.
