A French court will hear the case of a massive drug trafficking operation involving a former head of the country’s anti-drug agency and a key informant, a case that exposed deep flaws within France’s narcotics enforcement system. The trial, involving sixteen defendants, begins next Monday, March 2nd, 2026 and continues through March 31st, 2026, at the Bordeaux criminal court.
Among those facing trial is Commissioner François Thierry, the former director of the Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking (Ocrtis), and Sophiane Hambli, his primary informant. Hambli, nicknamed “The Chimera,” is currently detained in Morocco and is unlikely to appear in court.
The case originated in October 2015, when customs officials discovered 7.1 tons of cannabis resin in Paris. The drugs were part of a larger shipment of over ten tons imported from Morocco via Spain, under a “controlled delivery” operation orchestrated by French anti-drug services. Thierry is accused of facilitating the importation through his “Myrmidon” plan without fully informing judicial authorities of the methods employed.
The role of Sophiane Hambli will be central to the proceedings. Investigators suspect Hambli was the mastermind behind the organized trafficking operation originating in Morocco, and he faces up to 20 years in prison. Hambli, though, claims he was merely a “logistician” in an operation authorized by police hierarchy.
This scandal, described as a “case that killed Ocrtis,” led to a major overhaul of France’s drug enforcement strategy and the creation of the Ofast in 2019. The trial is expected to shed light on the complexities of undercover operations and the potential for abuse within law enforcement. The case underscores the challenges of combating international drug trafficking networks and the difficulties of maintaining integrity within anti-narcotics agencies.
