Yvelines police dismantle cigarette smuggling network in social housing

An investigation initiated in Mantes-la-Jolie has uncovered a smuggling circuit used to supply illicit cigarettes to street vendors within social housing residences in the Yvelines department. Authorities discovered that contraband, reportedly sourced from Senegal, was transported in suitcases and hidden in rooms and parking lots to facilitate sales.

Following surveillance aided by urban supervision cameras, police identified a 50-year-old delivery driver. Geolocation data from his vehicle revealed 41 trips to various social residences in Mantes-la-Jolie, Les Mureaux, Élancourt, Courbevoie, and Arpajon between March and May 2026. Upon his arrest in Élancourt, officers seized 676 packs of cigarettes.

Two other men, aged 55 and 56, were subsequently arrested near a Coallia residence in Mantes-la-Jolie. During the searches, police recovered additional cigarette packs and cash. Two of the men have been sentenced to three months of suspended prison sentences.