The National Guard foiled unprecedented trafficking: cocaine and psychotropic drugs hidden in oxygen bottles aboard foreign ambulances.
The scene could seem taken from a thriller. Foreign ambulances discreetly crisscrossing southern Tunisia, hermetically sealed oxygen bottles and, inside, not life-giving air, but psychotropic tablets and cocaine.
The National Guard has just put an end to an unprecedented type of trafficking, revealing the worrying inventiveness of cross-border drug trafficking networks.
Diverted medical logistics
The operation, carried out by the central anti-narcotics brigade of Ben Arous in coordination with the land border unit of Médenine, made it possible to seize nearly 92,000 Pregabalin tablets – a drug diverted from its therapeutic use – and a kilogram of cocaine.
Everything was hidden in oxygen cylinders intended for international medical transport ambulances, a camouflage almost undetectable without careful inspection.
Ten people were arrested, including six foreign nationals, confirming the international scope of the network. The Ben Arous and Medenine prosecutors ordered their detention and the opening of a joint investigation.
Porous borders, inventive trafficking
This raid reveals the growing sophistication of smuggling networks which exploit the position of southern Tunisia as a transit zone between North Africa and Europe.
According to security sources, the seized material came from abroad, suggesting delivery via the border areas of southern Tunisia, without a precise link having been confirmed.
Under the guise of humanitarian or medical activities, some traffickers use medical vehicles and cross-border routes to circumvent customs controls.
This affair illustrates the limits of regional security cooperation in the face of increasingly professional networks.
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