As France's plan to isolate its 100 most dangerous drug traffickers at a high-security prison progresses, the first 17 of the inmates arrived at the facility in Vendin-le-Vieil in the north of the country on Tuesday, according to Justice Minister Gérald Darmanin.
"The first 17 drug traffickers, who are among the most dangerous in our country, have just been transferred to the Vendin-le-Vieil prison in the north of the country, following a transfer under extraordinary security conditions," Darmanin posted on X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday morning.
The plan is key to efforts to stop inmates from running criminal networks from behind bars. A second high-security unit is due to open in mid-October at the Condé-sur-Sarthe prison, west of Paris.
New prison to isolate 100 of France's most dangerous drug lords
A total of 200 inmates will be incarcerated in Vendin-le-Vieil. They come "from the Paris region and the south of the Oise" said David Lacroix of the FO Justice trade union.
He said that after this "first wave" others will arrive from the Marseille region, the Grenoble region and the West Indies. Around 60 inmates should have arrived by 31 July, "and the last ones should arrive by mid-September," he added.
With the Vendin-le-Vieil prison equipped with drone and telephone jammers and compulsory searches after any contact with the outside world in place, plus outside exercise in the yard limited to groups of five, "their daily life will change," said Lacroix.
High-security prisons
Surrounded by four watchtowers and high perimeter walls, Vendin-le-Vieil, inaugurated in 2015, was already one of the two most secure prisons in France, along with Condé-sur-Sarthe in the north-west of the country.
It has undergone work to further strengthen its security, according to the justice ministry.
Salah Abdeslam, sentenced to life imprisonment for the attacks of 13 November, 2015 in Paris and Saint-Denis, and the armed robber Rédoine Faïd, who has escaped from prison twice, are already incarcerated at Vendin.
Drug trafficker Mohamed Amra, whose escape in May 2024 cost the lives of two prison officers, and who is currently incarcerated at Condé-sur-Sarthe, is also due to be transferred there.
A third high-security unit is due to be built by 2028 in French Guiana, plagued by drug trafficking and where prison overcrowding is rife.
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(with AFP)
