Second drug cop arrested

A SECOND drug squad detective was yesterday taken into custody in connection with the theft of nearly 52kg of cocaine from a secure storage room at police headquarters in Paris.

As reported, the drug, which has an estimated street value of €2.5million, was reported missing from the offices at 36 quai des Orfèvres last Thursday.

It had been seized earlier this month, as police dismantled a trafficking ring based in Martinique. The drug was reportedly manufactured in Venezuela and shipped to France via the Antilles.

On Saturday, a 34-year-old police officer, was arrested in Perpignan where he was on holiday.

The second drug squad member was detained after his name appeared on bank statements belonging to the original officer.

BFMTV has also reported that a third police officer is being treated as “a person of interest”. The broadcaster’s police and judicial consultant Dominique Rizet today said that the original suspect had numerous telephone conversations with this “third man”.

Detectives will also be investigating how the drugs came to be removed from a locked room to which only three people - the chief of staff, the head of narcotics and his deputy - should have keys, Mr Rizet said.

The lock was not forced, he said.

A source close to the investigation told BFMTV that the wife of the original suspect was questioned yesterday as police sought to clarify the couple’s lifestyle.

It has been reported that they own seven properties in the area around the Perpignan.

It has also been reported that €20,000 in cash has been seized from the chief suspect. Most of it was found in a backpack he was carrying at the time of his arrest, a source close to the case told AFP.

But the suspect denies the allegations against him and said the cash came from online gaming. His detention has been extended.

See also: Minister orders drug squad audit
Paris police ‘lose €2.5m drugs haul’