François Thierry charged with complicity in possession, transport and acquisition of drugs

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

The former head of France’s anti-narcotics agency has been charged with complicity in drug smuggling as part of an inquiry into controversial methods used by the police to bring down drug barons, legal sources have said.

François Thierry was charged on Thursday with complicity in the possession, transport and acquisition of drugs and in their export as part of an organised gang, a source close to the investigation said.

Ocrtis, the drug-fighting agency he ran between 2010-2016, came under investigation after seven tonnes of cannabis smuggled from Morocco was seized in Paris on 17 October 2015.

The police were initially praised for the haul but it later emerged that it was part of a sting operation aimed at infiltrating a smuggler network, with the help of a notorious trafficker acting as an informer.

Investigators accuse Thierry of keeping his superiors in the dark about parts of the operation and the role played by the trafficker, allegations he denies.

He has been released on bail.

His lawyer Francis Szpiner accused prosecutors of “incredible hypocrisy”, saying Thierry’s methods had produced “exceptional results”.