Andorran Police Arrest French Cocaine Ring Leader and Partner

Andorran police detained a 32-year-old man described by French authorities as the leader of a major cocaine trafficking network and his 28-year-old partner in an El Tarter tourist apartment on Thursday morning, following an Interpol red notice and European arrest warrant. The pair, French nationals of African origin, were vacationing in the Principality with their two young children, including a one-and-a-half-year-old, when arrested. Investigators suspect they may have been en route to Morocco, a key hub for cocaine flows, after fleeing France.

The operation stemmed from an 18-month probe launched in June 2024 by Dax prosecutors, the Dax gendarmerie, and Mont-de-Marsan police judiciaire. Initial cases from Dax's research brigade and Mont-de-Marsan station merged under a Dax investigating judge by late 2024. Surveillance, wiretaps, and technical investigations revealed a network using couriers—or "mules"—to transport cocaine by train from the Paris region to Dax, bypassing road checks. The drugs were then stored, packaged into one-kilogram batches, and weighed in Mont-de-Marsan Airbnb rentals before distribution to local dealers in Dax and Mont-de-Marsan.

Raids on January 26 and 27 in Landes seized over one kilogram of cocaine, 100 grams of cannabis, 10 grams of ketamine, and €26,500 in cash, along with two vehicles worth about €87,000 and a quad bike. Four suspects were arrested in France, with three charged: two in pretrial detention and one under judicial control. Prosecutors estimate the group moved more than 20 kilograms of cocaine in Landes during 2025 alone, with a street value over €1.2 million from roughly 20 shipments.

Both detainees remain in custody at La Comella prison. The man, considered particularly dangerous due to his prison experience and physique, has caused no issues so far and was moved from the adaptation unit to a standard cell over the weekend, sharing space with another inmate. An Andorran investigating judge will interrogate them, with one month to request formal extradition to France—a process that could last several weeks. The children are in protective custody awaiting pickup by French relatives. An off-road vehicle loaded with luggage at the scene suggested they were preparing to leave.