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Mayoress of French town arrested over drugs found in her home

Jamilah Habsaoui, mayoress of the Burgundy town of Avallon, was arrested and detained along with two of her brothers after a gendarmerie raid on her home found a kilo of cocaine, 70 kilos of cannabis and gold bars, all of which she has denied knowing were there.

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The mayor of a small French town in central-eastern France has been detained after police said 70kg (154lb) of cannabis was found in her home, reports BBC News.

Police said it had also discovered about 1kg of cocaine, €7,000 euros (£5,991) in cash and gold bars.

Jamilah Habsaoui, the mayor of Avallon, and two of her brothers were among seven people arrested earlier this week, the public prosecutor said.

Ms Habsaoui's lawyer denied that she knew the drugs were stored at her home.

The mayor's house, the town hall, and the pharmacy where Ms Habsaoui worked were all searched, prosecutor Hugues de Phily told AFP news agency.

Mr Phily said her arrest on Sunday was the result of several weeks of investigations into drug trafficking in the town, which is home to 6,000 people and located in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

Ms Habsaoui was elected mayor in March 2021, after serving as a local councillor since 2014.

The lawyer for one of Ms Habsaoui's brothers told French newspaper Le Figaro that the drugs were stored at the property without the mayor's knowledge and without her consent.

Read more of this report from BBC News.