Mauritanian nationals charged in France for multi‑million euro drug‑money laundering

Two Mauritanian citizens have been placed in provisional detention in Paris and charged with aggravated money‑laundering and participation in a criminal association. Investigators say they were central figures in an international network that collected and moved tens of millions of euros derived from drug trafficking, operating across France, Belgium and Africa.

Police seized 377,000 € in cash from a hostel in Chevilly‑Larue, Val‑de‑Marne, and a further 3,000 € in Alfortville during raids on African community housing. The scheme used cash‑dropping points, a motorcycle courier with a code, and paid each collector 5,000 € per month. Funds were laundered through informal hawala transfers and by buying vehicles in Europe for resale to Africa via the port of Antwerp. Belgian authorities, cooperating through European judicial channels, have arrested fifteen additional suspects linked to the network.

The two men were apprehended on a TGV at Massy station, questioned by the Parisian anti‑organized‑crime unit, and have acknowledged the allegations. One suspect, a married father of three, claimed to have been unaware of the full scope of the operation.