PARIS – A postman-turned-leftist politician who has campaigned against the use of Tasers claims he has been targeted by a shady spy ring – allegedly made up of crooked cops, private eyes and the head of a French company that sells the stun guns.

The bizarre tale unfolding in France this week is the latest chapter of a global controversy over the use of Tasers, which are used by many police departments around the world. The weapon was designed as a non-lethal means to immobilize suspects, but it has been blamed for some deaths.

French police this week detained 11 people in a probe into the spying allegations by Olivier Besancenot, a mail carrier who heads the country's far-left Communist Revolutionary League. He says he and his family were trailed and spied on because of his campaign against Tasers.

By Wednesday night, seven people remained in custody, including two officials of a private detective firm, a customs agent, current and former police officers and the president of SMP Technologies, which markets Tasers in France.

Besancenot ran for president last year, and during his campaign he blamed stun guns for 150 deaths in the United States.

SMP Technologies has filed suit charging Besancenot with defamation over his anti-Taser comments.

Police searched the company's offices and found a copy of what is described as an incriminating report of an investigation, a police official close to the probe said.

A check for $5,420 from SMP was found at the detective agency, the official said, but added that it did not establish the agency was paid to spy on Besancenot.

The official was not authorized to speak publicly about the investigation and agreed to discuss the case only if not quoted by name.

Besancenot is not the only one to raise questions about police use of the Taser, a pistol-shaped weapon that shoots excruciatingly painful, 50,000-volt barbs of electricity meant to stun targets.

In Canada, an official report last month criticized the country's federal police for failing to do enough research on the dangers of Tasers before approving the weapon for use. The report was ordered after the 2007 death of a Polish immigrant Tasered by police at Vancouver's airport.

Another report, warning of the dangers of firing a Taser at those high on drugs, prompted police in San Antonio, Texas, this week to ban the stun gun's use on anyone known to be under the influence.

In New York last month, a man plunged head first to his death from a 10-foot-high perch after he was Tasered. The officer who ordered the stun gun's use later killed himself.

Associated Press writers Jean-Pierre Verges and Sylvie Corbet contributed to this report.