Clear place: when the Hérault prefecture plays the role of traffickers' informers, despite itself, on its website

La captation et l’enregistrement d’images sont très réglementés. Midi Libre – Illustration ALEXIS BETHUNE

Chaque matin, les opérations de police, programmées dans la journée, avec utilisation de drones sont annoncées sur le site de la préfecture. Un comble !

Drug traffickers, at least those who are a little geeky, have a bright future ahead of them, thanks to French legislation! Here, let's take the example of “Place Nette Montasinos”, this large-scale operation which was initiated last Monday March 25, place Rosa-Parks in Aiguelongue in Montpellier, within the eponymous city.

The police arrived in large numbers, from 8 a.m., to fight against drug trafficking. Seven people were then arrested, 15 kg of cannabis resin and 10 kg of weed were seized. As well as weapons (a Kalashnikov and a submachine gun).

Subject to prior authorization

But the operation could have ended in failure if the traffickers had not stayed put. and were connected to the website of the Hérault prefecture.

Why ? Quite simply because, given the risks of attacks on public freedoms and the private lives of individuals, each time the interdepartmental management of the national police wishes to use drones, it must contact the prefecture in order to obtain authorization to capture, record and transmit images.

A legal obligation

If these requests remained in the secret of the gods, there would be no problem. Except that, legally, the prefecture must issue a prefectural decree and bring it to the attention of the public.

It was thus that on March 28, still within the framework of “Place Net Montasinos”, from the morning, the traffickers, aware of the legal obligations, were able to learn that that same afternoon, from 3 p.m., the police were going to disembark.

Same for April 3, same time; April 10, same place but from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Or again on April 11 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. And all with annexes indicating the geographical perimeter concerned. The height!

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