Orly Airport Attack: Drugs Found in Ziyed Ben Belgacem’s Blood

Toxicology tests have revealed that the man who attacked soldiers at Paris’ Orly airport on March 18 had consumed drugs and alcohol.

Ziyed Ben Belgacem was shot dead after he put a gun to a soldier’s head saying he wanted to “die for Allah”.

Paris prosecutors’ office said blood tests during the 39-year-old’s autopsy found traces of cocaine and cannabis.

Ziyed Ben Belgacem also had an alcohol level of 0.93g per liter of blood, nearly twice the legal limit for driving in France.

The attacker is said to have been radicalized in prison, and was on a police watch-list.

On March 18, the man was involved in a shooting and then a carjacking before he attacked a military patrol at Orly, Paris’s second-biggest airport.

Ziyed Ben Belgacem’s criminal record included convictions for armed robbery and drugs offences, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins told reporters on the day of the attack.

In an interview with French radio Europe 1 on March 19, a man identified as his father said Ziyed Ben Belgacem wasn’t a practicing Muslim and drank alcohol.

The man said: “My son was not a terrorist. He never prayed, and he drank. But under the effects of alcohol and cannabis, this is where one ends up.”

Europe 1 did not give his name.

The father was released from police custody overnight on March 18, while Ziyed Ben Belgacem’s brother and a cousin were released on March 19.

On March 18, Ziyed Ben Belgacem was stopped at a checkpoint in Garges-les-Gonesse, north of Paris.

He fired at police with a pellet gun before escaping in a car that was later found abandoned.

Police say Ziyed Ben Belgacem then stole a car at gunpoint from a woman at Vitry, south of Paris. That car was later found at Orly airport.

Ziyed Ben Belgacem arrived at the airport and attacked a military patrol in the south terminal.

He tried to seize a servicewoman’s automatic weapon, put his gun to her head and said: “I’m here to die for Allah. In any case people are going to die.”

Ziyed Ben Belgacem was then shot dead by two other soldiers.

A copy of the Koran was found on his body, Paris prosecutor Francois Molins added.

The attack came at a sensitive time. France has presidential elections starting next month and remains under a state of emergency.