A French court on Friday sentenced seven people implicated in a drug smuggling operation to up to 18 years in prison each with two ex-air force pilots getting six-year terms.
A Frenchman sentenced to 20 years' jail in the Dominican Republic over a plot to smuggle a planeload of drugs has been transferred to France for health reasons, his lawyer said.
A French anti-drugs policeman was sentenced to 10 years in prison on Friday for stealing nearly 50 kilogrammes (110 pounds) of cocaine from a safe in the headquarters of the Paris force.
A French drug squad officer goes on trial on Tuesday, accused of stealing around 50 kilograms of cocaine from police headquarters in Paris in a case that has shaken the high-profile force.
Egypt is to extradite a Frenchman to the Dominican Republic for his alleged involvement in the escape of two pilots sentenced to prison in a drugs case, an official said on Saturday.
The French government won't be sending two Air France pilots convicted of drug dealing back to the Dominican Republic, which is demanding their return after they pulled off a daring escape from the Caribbean island.
Two French pilots sentenced to 20 years in jail in the Dominican Republic for cocaine trafficking have somehow managed to sneak off the Caribbean island and make it back to France, after a spectacular escape that could have been the plot of spy thriller.
Three French police officers were on Saturday brought before judges investigating the theft of more than 50 kilograms of cocaine from police headquarters in Paris last year, a judicial source told AFP.
Two men are in French jail after they allegedly used an official Vatican vehicle to try to smuggle several kilos of cocaine and cannabis through France, according to media reports.
A second French cop has been arrested this week as police continue their probe into the embarassing theft of 52 kilos of cocaine from Paris police headquarters in Paris. Reports on Tuesday said police suspected other officers of being involved.
The driver of a truck that crossed to the wrong side of a French highway and crushed to death a family of five travelling in the opposite direction tested positive for cocaine use, the investigating prosecutor said Saturday.
A French surgeon found more than he had bargained on this week when he opened up a patient to try and discover the cause of his chronic stomach pains. Inside the unconscious man's intestines was hidden 600 grams of cocaine in little balls.
French police said on Friday they had seized a record 1.4 tonnes of cocaine and four people had been arrested in a "severe blow" to an international drug trafficking chain.
Two Britons, who were among several people arrested in connection with the record haul of cocaine seized on an Air France flight from Caracas to Paris, were charged on Tuesday with smuggling 1.3 tonnes of cocaine, worth an estimated €200 million.
The playboy heir to a famous French caviar empire, notorious for his lavish cocaine-fueled S&M orgies, is set to stand trial on Monday for charges of rape, torture and sexual abuse involving blowtorches, hot wax and cigarette lighters.
A French couple in their sixties got a shock this week when they unpacked after their holiday in Ecuador. On opening one of their suitcases, they saw that their possessions had been replaced by 20kg of cocaine.
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">Three of Paris' most chic restaurants have been shut down after police were called in to investigate claims of drug trafficking.</span></p>
<p>French police said on Thursday they seized 150 kilos of cocaine -- with a street value of around €10 million ($14.4 million) -- hidden in ballet shoes that arrived in a Paris airport from the Dominican Republic.</p>
<p><span style="font-family: arial, helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">While cannabis use has remained fairly stable in France, the number of cocaine and tobacco users is on the rise.</span></p>
