This was called a “record seizure”. Of those that make the headlines of the press, suddenly inflate the statistics and arouse the congratulations of the ministers responsible. In the summer of 2015, agents from the National Directorate of Intelligence and Customs Investigations (DNRED) got their hands on 43 tonnes of counterfeit coffee from the L’Or de Maison du Café brand, first in a lorry arrested at a toll booth on the A1 motorway, then in a warehouse in Argenteuil (Val-d’Oise). “A first on the national territory”, then trumpeted Bercy and the Customs Department. Alas, the legal developments in this case will not really be those initially expected.
Since May 9, six former high-ranking officers of the DNRED – a service appearing among the first circle of the intelligence community, in the same way as the DGSI or the DGSE –, two advisers and an intermediary have appeared before the 11e chamber of the Paris Criminal Court for acts of “importing counterfeit goods by an organized gang”, “fraud”, “embezzlement of public funds”.
Justice suspects the operation, called “Aurore”, of having been set up from scratch for the sole purpose of artificially boosting the figures. In other words, this seizure of counterfeits would itself be counterfeit. A shame for customs officers.
75 tons of contraband cigarettes
To set up this supposedly fictitious operation, the tax collectors would have relied on one of the advisers
–
