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Last Friday, two French nationals were extradited from Morocco and charged in Toulouse, following a European arrest warrant issued by French authorities since April 2024. The individuals, aged 27 and 28, are suspected of leading the drug trafficking network known as «Arai Farmers». This network operated between Spain and France, with organizers based in Morocco. They have been placed in provisional detention as part of efforts to dismantle the organization, the prosecutor's office announced on Sunday.
According to a statement from Toulouse public prosecutor David Charmatz, the AFP reports that the accused are facing charges of «drug trafficking, organized importation of narcotics, and organized money laundering of drug trafficking, covering a period from January 2021 to February 2024». Two other leaders are also being sought under an arrest warrant.
The organized group «supplied delivery networks and shipped parcels to several cities across the country», utilizing «feeder apartments in the Toulouse area», the source reveals. «Cocaine supplies from Barcelona were transported via vehicles equipped with hydraulic compartments or modified fuel tanks. Investigations, conducted in close collaboration with the Guardia Civil, also uncovered money laundering operations, notably involving fake invoices and cryptocurrency transactions», it adds.
The press agency notes that last June, the first of the four main suspects was arrested upon returning to France, after spending 18 months in Morocco. Two others, «reoffenders», were apprehended in Morocco last February and transferred last Friday. According to the prosecutor's office, investigations are ongoing to extradite those still at large.
The investigations were initiated following an attempted assassination in 2021. To date, two major operations have resulted in the indictment of 40 individuals, with 15 currently in detention.
