1,218 bottles of nitrous oxide were seized in Seine-Saint-Denis and two people were arrested. Initially for medical use, this laughing gas is increasingly popular with young people.
More than a thousand bottles seized, cash and two arrests. Here is the report of a roadside check carried out by investigators from the Rosny-sous-Bois police station. “Ils surprised the traffickers in full delivery and discovered several thousand euros in their vehicle“, indicated the parquet floor of Bobigny in a press release.
One of the defendants, an apprentice in the automotive sector, took care of the rental of the box and the direction of traffic while the management of customers and deliveries throughout the Ile-de-France was provided by his accomplice, adds the public prosecutor.
The two people involved were referred to the prosecution last Saturday and will be summoned before the Bobigny Criminal Court on September 24 for “money laundering, refusal to provide mobile phone unlock codes and concealed work“, committed over the period from December 4, 2020 to May 7, 2021. The last charge punishes the trafficking of nitrous oxide, specifies the prosecution. They incur up to 10 years of imprisonment.
10 euros the ball
Since the first confinement, an increase in nitrous oxide traffic has been observed in Seine-Saint-Denis as on national territory, indicates the Bobigny prosecution. “Some individuals diversifying or even abandoning the trafficking of narcotics for this activity considered to be more profitable and less criminally exposed.t”, analyzes the prosecution.
For consumers, the box of 10 x 10 ml capsules is sold for an average of 10 euros and the bottles for 25 to 100 euros, depending on their packaging. In a festive context, the price is 10 euros “the balloon”.
A previous traffic of nitrous oxide had been dismantled in March also in Rosny-sous-Bois. This case gave rise to the seizure and destruction of 1,849 bottles of nitrous oxide and 2,160 culinary siphon cartridges.
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