Three people have been placed under formal investigation over a suspected sect operating out of a rural property in Toudon, in the hills above Nice, following a nine month gendarme inquiry into suspected sectarian abuse and drug trafficking, Nice's public prosecutor announced Wednesday.
Investigators from the Puget-Théniers gendarmerie brigade raided the property on Saturday, July 11, catching a ceremony in progress attended by 14 people who were consuming or preparing to consume psychotropic substances, including hallucinogenic mushrooms and plant-based preparations, according to the prosecutor's office. Participants were given medical care on site before being allowed to return home. The two women, born in 1984 and 1958, and one man, born in 1962 and the husband of the elder woman, are suspected of regularly organising the ceremonies on the couple's property in exchange for payment.
The investigation began in October 2025 after gendarmes received intelligence pointing to possible sectarian abuse and the consumption of banned psychotropic substances. Around fifty personnel took part in Saturday's operation, drawing on reinforcements from the Nice and Menton gendarmerie companies, a canine unit, cyber investigators, and specialists in tax, environmental and planning law, alongside a doctor, a nurse and an analysis laboratory to support the participants found on site. Searches led to the seizure of a substantial quantity of psychotropic products whose possession or use is banned in France.
All three suspects have been placed under judicial supervision as the investigation continues.