French detectives are investigating the lifestyle of a drug squad officer arrested on suspicion of stealing more than 50kg of cocaine from the a fabled Paris police headquarters at 36 quai des Orfevres.
French Minister of the Interior Bernard Cazeneuve said the 34-year-old officer, identified as “Jonathan G,” had been suspended pending completion of the investigation into the allegations, which he said were “extremely serious.” The estimated street value of the 52.6kg of cocaine, which had been seized in raid in northern Paris early last month, is 2 million euros (US$2.6 million). As of Sunday, the missing cocaine had still not been found.
“If the investigation confirms his implication... I shall take every sanction and other necessary measures,” Cazeneuve said.
Photo: AFP
The officer is in the custody of France’s police disciplinary body, which can hold him until tomorrow. He was arrested on Saturday while shopping with his wife and daughter on holiday in Perpignan, near the Spain border. His arrest came after scores of police officers from Paris and Marseilles were sent to watch his movements.
It emerged on Sunday that he and his wife own seven apartments in Perpignan, where he was brought up. Those properties, as well as his Paris home, were searched by police, who seized his mobile phones and computer. Detectives are now going through his bank records.
He denies responsibility for the theft, and sources close to the investigation said he has said little to investigators.
A number of other officers have been questioned to establish whether Jonathan G might have had inside accomplices.
The drugs were stolen on the night of July 24 from a safe room at the Paris police headquarters, the setting of numerous French police dramas and immortalized in the Maigret novels of Georges Simenon.
After police noticed the cocaine theft — which could have come straight out of an episode of the gritty cult French cop drama Spiral — the investigation targeted the drug squad officer after he was seen on surveillance video footage leaving 36 quai des Orfevres with two bulging bags.
Suspicions were also raised after colleagues said he had been asking questions about the secure room where the drugs had been kept in a locked safe since they were seized on July 4. Visitors to the room have to sign in and can only be admitted in the presence of one of only three officers authorized to hold a key.
According to investigators, Jonathan G had asked to be admitted to the secure room, saying he needed to check the facility. They added that he only spent a few seconds there. Apparently there is no video surveillance in the secure room.
Jonathan G’s colleagues expressed surprise at the arrest, describing him as trustworthy and having a “low profile.”
It is the second significant embarrassment at 36 quai des Orfevres this year, after two officer were charged in April with raping a Canadian tourist who agreed to a late-night tour of the building.
The latest incident has also focused attention on the security of seized goods at the police headquarters. One officer told Le Parisien newspaper that sometimes such evidence is held in safes for weeks or months until their destruction is ordered.
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