Mermoz: A "Trap" party leads police to uncover a major drug trafficking operation

A "Trap" party held in a furnished apartment in Mermoz Sotrac led investigators from the Special Tourism Police Station to uncover a suspected drug and pharmaceutical trafficking network. A total of nine people were brought before the prosecutor on Friday, according to the investigation.

It all started with a tip-off on September 7th. Police were informed of parties being held in a furnished apartment in the Mermoz Sotrac district, involving the consumption of various substances. An operation carried out with the support of a source allowed investigators to infiltrate the premises.

The search of the apartment led to the arrest of seven people and the discovery of several products. Police seized, among other things, "Alpraz" tablets, two bags containing a powder presented as MDMA (ecstasy), four bottles of nitrous oxide, and two bags of hashish.

The interviews then allowed investigators to trace the supply back to a suspected supplier of "Alpraz" located at the "Keur Serigne Bi" market. According to the investigation, one of the suspects agreed to cooperate with the police, and a monitored order was placed.

The arrested delivery driver then reportedly led investigators to the home of the suspected supplier, located on Dial Diop Street. A search of the premises uncovered a large quantity of pharmaceutical products, valued at several million CFA francs.

Among the seized items were 342 boxes of Misodia, 13 boxes of Cytotec, 30 boxes of Diazepam, 19 boxes of Alprazolam, and 20 boxes of expired Tramadol. Police also discovered various syrups and products marketed as weight gain or weight loss aids, aphrodisiacs, and hundreds of tubes of lubricant.

Investigators suspect that some of these drugs are being diverted for clandestine abortions.

The investigation continued with searches carried out on September 9 at the homes of two other suspects in Sicap Liberté 1 and Liberté 3. At one of their residences, police reportedly discovered a nitrous oxide canister and a precision electronic scale, which could be used for packaging or weighing narcotics. The second search, however, yielded nothing.

Analyses carried out by the National Analysis Laboratory, following requests addressed to the Technical and Scientific Police Division (DPTS), have also confirmed the presence of MDMA in the seized crystal samples.

At the end of the investigation, nine people were brought before the public prosecutor for criminal association, possession of psychotropic substances for the purpose of trafficking, illegal trafficking of medicines, illegal practice of the profession of pharmacist, endangering the lives of others and complicity in voluntary termination of pregnancy.