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Considered by the French judiciary to be the mastermind behind a major international cocaine trafficking network based in Nantes, Issam Lahrach, known as «The Plume», is being tried in absentia starting Monday, May 4. The specialized interregional jurisdiction (JIRS) in Rennes suspects him of heading a «financial empire» built on illicit activities allegedly «managed from Morocco».
According to Franceinfo, citing the PressPepper agency, Lahrach has been on the run for several years. The fugitive is described as the «most powerful trafficker in Nantes». Alongside him, 13 other defendants are appearing before the JIRS, including Saïd X, who is believed to have been in direct contact with him since 2021.
Saïd X, a man in his fifties from Finistère previously unknown to authorities, is accused of «importing narcotics», «possession», and «participation in a criminal conspiracy». He was arrested in a parking lot while «loading bricks of cocaine» that had been transported in a mule’s suitcase via Orly airport, arriving from the Dominican Republic.
Recognized as a «disabled worker», he admitted to committing the acts «for a few hundred euros», according to Franceinfo. As for Lahrach, his name has «regularly appeared in local judicial files». Described as the «boss of bosses» of drug trafficking in Nantes, the thirty-something is also believed to have expanded his operations into other parts of western France.
Saïd X’s lawyers, for their part, denounce what they describe as «relentless targeting» of their client due to his alleged proximity to Lahrach. He has been in custody since 2023, following repeated refusals of release by the investigating chamber of the Rennes Court of Appeal.
