France will start seizing drug users’ phones across the country as part of a crackdown on gangs blamed for a wave of prison attacks. The move expands a trial in Bayonne aimed at stopping deals made through encrypted messaging apps.
Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin said the plan was based on work by prosecutors in Bayonne, southwest France, where phones used for drug transactions have already been seized.
“The law allows us to seize a cell phone, a car, a motorcycle, or a quad bike,” Darmanin told FranceInfo radio on Thursday. He said these items can be “confiscated” and sold before any conviction.
“Seizures in general of money, cars, belongings – are sometimes more effective than prosecution,” he said.
Bayonne prosecutor Jérôme Bourrier called for “a more assertive crackdown” on drug users, speaking on local station Ici Pays Basque.
“Narcotics trafficking is increasingly using encrypted networks, means of communication, this phenomenon known as ‘Ubershit’ or ‘Ubercoke’,” Bourrier said. “I think it’s good policy to hit where it hurts and seize these cell phones.”
Scores of attacks
Darmanin made the announcement after visiting Saint-Quentin-Fallavier prison in Isère, which was attacked earlier this week.
He was joined by Prime Minister François Bayrou and Interior Minister Bruno Retailleau. On Tuesday night, gunfire and Molotov cocktails hit a housing block in nearby Villefontaine, where some prison officers live.
“Sixty-five acts of aggression or damage have been committed over the past 10 days,” Retailleau told reporters.
AFP received a message from DDPF on Thursday.
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