Four young men in Narbonne spent two months in pre-trial detention before a correctional court handed down relaxes for extortion and attempted fraud. The case traces back to 8 September 2026 in Narbonne, after a cousin gathering, when a young man filed a complaint against five friends. The group was accused over a weekend drug-fuelled dispute that allegedly turned into threats, theft and forced dealing. The men, around 20 years old, rented an apartment on Boulevard des Pyrénées to watch films but also to take drugs. During the two days, they reportedly smoked PTC, a synthetic cannabis-based drug. Court documents described the substance as loaded with crack and cocaine, according to judicial expert findings. Investigators also alleged that one friend helped supply the PTC. The defence cases centred on claims that everyone was too intoxicated to recall events, with multiple statements describing fear and confusion during police custody and later at the trial. The prosecution pointed to a “succession of indigences” involving both investigators and the Narbonne public prosecutor. It cited failures such as not carrying out perquisitions fully, not ordering key tests, not hearing certain people, and not requesting expert assessments. At trial, one defendant was fully relaxed, while the other four were relaxed from the extortion and attempted fraud charges. The only sentence mentioned was for one man, convicted for theft: 10 months in prison, with 8 months suspended, and no continued detention was applied for the period covered by the time he spent in custody. All four were able to return home, after a six-hour hearing and a decision that ended with the accused being released from the main charges.