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DRUGS

Huge cannabis stash found in Paris car park

French narcotics police on Tuesday discovered drugs, weapons and several high-speed vehicles believed to belong to a drug trafficking network at an underground car park in Paris.

After months of investigation, police seized 535 kg of cannabis resin at an underground parking lot in the city’s nineteenth arrondissement. The raid also led to the discovery of two 8 mm and 9 mm handguns, a Sten submachine gun, a rifle, a bulletproof vest, as well as powerful motorcycles and several cars.

 According to preliminary investigations, the vehicles were used to traffic large amounts of drugs at very high speeds from Spain to France.

Investigators also arrested five people suspected of involvement with the trafficking network and placed them in custody. It is suspected that the network has been operating in the nineteenth arrondissement for several months.

Newspaper Le Parisien, quoted a source close to the case who said the dealers would have sold the drugs for about 600,000 ($810,000).

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PARIS

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Efforts to relocate wild rabbits that are a common sight on the lawns of the historic Invalides memorial complex have provoked criticism from animal rights groups.

Fluffy nuisance: Outcry as Paris sends Invalides rabbits into exile

Tourists and Parisians have long been accustomed to the sight of wild rabbits frolicking around the lawns of Les Invalides, one of the French capital’s great landmarks.

But efforts are underway to relocate the fluffy animals, accused of damaging the gardens and drains around the giant edifice that houses Napoleon’s tomb, authorities said.

Police said that several dozen bunnies had been captured since late January and relocated to the private estate of Breau in the Seine-et-Marne region outside Paris, a move that has prompted an outcry from animal rights activists.

“Two operations have taken place since 25 January,” the police prefecture told AFP.

“Twenty-four healthy rabbits were captured on each occasion and released after vaccination” in Seine-et-Marne, the prefecture said.

Six more operations are scheduled to take place in the coming weeks.

Around 300 wild rabbits live around Les Invalides, according to estimates.

“The overpopulation on the site is leading to deteriorating living conditions and health risks,” the prefecture said.

Authorities estimate the cost of restoring the site, which has been damaged by the proliferation of underground galleries and the deterioration of gardens, pipes and flora, at €366,000.

Animal rights groups denounced the operation.

The Paris Animaux Zoopolis group said the rabbits were being subjected to “intense stress” or could be killed “under the guise of relocation”.

“A number of rabbits will die during capture and potentially during transport,” said the group, accusing authorities of being “opaque” about their methods.

The animal rights group also noted that Breau was home to the headquarters of the Seine-et-Marne hunting federation.

The police prefecture insisted that the animals would not be hunted.

In 2021, authorities classified the rabbits living in Paris as a nuisance but the order was reversed following an outcry from animal groups who have been pushing for a peaceful cohabitation with the animals.

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