It is a state scandal that some thought was lost forever in legal limbo. And yet. According to our information, Mathieu Vignau, investigating judge in post at the specialized interregional jurisdiction (Jirs) of Bordeaux (Gironde), served, on July 18, a notice of end of information to the lawyers of the eighteen people placed in examination in the case of the seven tons of cannabis resin seized in October 2015 in Paris. An ultra-sensitive file that has shaken the highest echelons of the police and justice.
Among those suspected of having taken part in this massive importation are a major drug trafficker and ex-police informant, Sofiane Hambli, 48, and the former head of the Central Office for the Suppression of Illicit Trafficking in narcotics (OCRTIS), commissioner François Thierry.
In a related procedure, the same François Thierry, 55, nicknamed “Blue Eyes” or “FT”, has just had his referral to the Rhône Assize Court confirmed by the Court of Cassation. He will be judged for having organized a false police custody of this informant. One more episode in a case that is already not lacking.
Very quickly, this masterstroke was surrounded by a scent of scandal
In the stem file investigated in Bordeaux, the prosecution now has three months to write its final indictment and decide whether or not to refer the eighteen indicted to justice. The investigation of this case with multiple ramifications lasted nearly eight years and originated in the record seizure, on October 17, 2015, of seven tons of hashish stored in three utilities parked on Boulevard Exelmans, in the heart of the 16th arrondissement in Paris. A “miraculous catch” carried out at the time by agents of the National Directorate of Intelligence and Customs Investigations (DNRED). François Hollande, then President of the Republic, had even posed in front of the dozens of bundles stuffed with drugs.
But, very quickly, this masterstroke was surrounded by a scent of scandal. During the search of one of the utilities, a receipt in the name of Sofiane Hambli was discovered by customs officers. The man is considered one of the barons of green gold in Europe and is described as belonging to the very restricted circle of multimillionaires of hash. He also appears, and above all, as one of the main “uncles” of the OCRTIS.
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After the customs check, his 250 square meter penthouse, equipped with an indoor swimming pool, paid 9,000 ruby euros on the nail every month in cash, is searched. The one who is nicknamed the “chimera” did not wait for the arrival of the police to pack up. On the run, he was reported in Switzerland before being caught in Belgium at the beginning of 2016. Brought before the investigating magistrate, he denied having participated in any traffic. On the contrary: he claims to have taken on the role of “logistician” in charge of the transport of the product, at the express request of the French justice system and under the control of the OCRTIS.
At the same time, the investigation established that it was not seven tons of drugs that were hidden in the middle of a shipment of tajine dishes, but at least fifteen. Before the investigators set the final weight of this drug between 30 and 40 tons, the result of a grouping of several imports orchestrated by powerful drug traffickers.
During this period, two other tons of resin from the same transport were seized in Ancenis (Loire-Atlantique), as well as 750 kilos in Perpignan (Pyrénées-Orientales), 166 kilos in Perreux-sur-Marne (Val-de -Marne) and another six tonnes in Belgium.
All with the authorization of the courts and under the protection of the police as part of a “monitored delivery”: an investigative device supposed to allow OCTRIS investigators to follow the delivery of this precious merchandise from its starting point until its arrival in the hands of traffickers. And to identify all the links in the chain. But without knowing the exact quantity of drugs transported…
The investigation of this extraordinary case also highlighted the shortcomings of the OCRTIS police officers, – in particular on the surveillance of narcotics thus transported between Morocco and France -, and the unorthodox relations between their leader and Sofiane Hambli , for which he was the agent.
The story goes that the “chimera”, originally from Mulhouse (Haut-Rhin), would have been “solicited” for the first time by the French services while he was imprisoned in Spain at the end of the 2000s. France, he was sentenced to thirteen years in prison, in April 2011, and served a quarter of his sentence.
For his part, François Thierry claims to have always acted in complete transparency and with the approval of justice. Indicted in August 2017 on charges of “complicity in the importation of narcotic products as an organized gang”, “complicity in the export of narcotic products as an organized gang”, “possession”, “acquisition”, “offer or transfer”, ” unauthorized transport of narcotics” and “destruction of document or object concerning a crime or offense by a person holding public authority”, he was removed from his post and is currently in charge of the digital transformation project of the police national.
His former service did not survive him. The OCRTIS was dissolved in December 2019 to make way for the Anti-Narcotics Office (Ofast). Solicited, the lawyers of François Thierry, Angélique Peretti and Francis Szpiner, did not wish to speak.
Incarcerated for several months after his indictment, Sofiane Hambli was released before being talked about again in December 2020 in a new case of attempted importation of narcotics in Seine-Saint-Denis. Placed in pre-trial detention, he was released in March 2021 by decision of the Court of Cassation. He then fled when the justice had issued a new warrant of committal against him. His trace is found in Morocco, near Tangier, in October 2021, after a violent stabbing attack of which he was the victim.
Implicated by the Cherifian kingdom for acts of “international drug trafficking”, “money laundering” and “kidnapping”, he was sentenced to twenty years in prison in September 2022 by the judges of the criminal chamber of the Rabat court. He is now awaiting his appeal trial. Contacted, his lawyer, Hugues Vigier, did not respond.
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