Story By: Joseph Golder, Sub-Editor: Joseph Golder, Agency: Central European News
A man managed to avoid arrest – at least initially – when cops came to bust his cannabis grow op by pretending to be a good neighbour taking out the rubbish and chatting with them as they came up the stairs.
It was only when they checked the bins downstairs that the French police officers in the commune of Bonneuil in the Val-de-Marne department just outside Paris realised their error but by then the man had fled, leaving behind the bin bag that actually contained over 6 kilogrammes (13 lbs) of cannabis.
For weeks, the cops had been receiving noise complaints about the building where the drugs were being grown so they finally decided to take a look after receiving a “tip off” about a large quantity of cannabis being grown in the building, taking a K9 sniffer dog with them to help them locate the right flat.
They found that the owner of the flat is currently stuck in the Caribbean, unable to return home because of the COVID-19 crisis. In the meantime, the cops found that drug dealers had taken over his flat and used it to grow copious amounts of cannabis, after they called a locksmith in to get the door open for them.
They at first found about 1.5 kilogrammes (3.3 lbs) of cannabis in the flat, before bumping into the “kind neighbour” taking out the ‘rubbish’. The “polite” man, who was coming down from an upper floor, said hello to the cops and exchanged a few words before carrying on down with his bin bag.
After the cops, who had nonetheless grown suspicious, went check the bin bags in the rubbish downstairs, they found 6 kilogrammes of cannabis.
Along with the drugs they had found in the flat, their haul numbered about 8 kilogrammes (17.6 lbs).
But the man had in the meantime escaped over the rooftops.
Despite his bold escape, he was busted the following day when one of the cops recognised him in the street and he has been detained.
The suspect has not been named and it is unclear if he has been charged.
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