the essential
On Sunday 23 June, customs officers stopped a 35-year-old man at the Millau viaduct toll booth who was carrying 396 kg of cannabis in his vehicle. He was acting in a “go fast” manner. Customs officers had to slash the tyres of his car to stop him.
Originally from the Paris region, he was tried yesterday in immediate appearance. If the merits of the case were not addressed by the judges, since the defendant requested time to prepare his defense – until September 25 – a few elements were nevertheless mentioned. Allowing us to better understand the extent of this trafficking and, above all, to discuss the personality and criminal record “charge” of the one who was intercepted, while during the hearing, he chose to remain silent.
Already convicted on multiple occasions, mainly in Paris, notably for drug trafficking for which he had already received seven years in prison, the individual explained that he had contracted numerous debts. Which is why he accepted this last mission.
The president of the hearing spoke in a little more detail about this affair which had landed him in prison for seven years. The defendant was thus part of a network “very structured” and he was playing “an essentially logistical role, but he recognized his involvement”. Five people were convicted for this trafficking, the quantities of which were around two tonnes of cannabis, which took place in 2017 and 2020.
The public prosecutor, Nicolas Rigot-Muller highlighted the “failures of sentence adjustments” and especially “the risk of recurrence”, “and consultation”, with other people involved in the case, to justify the detention of the accused pending his trial. The magistrate recalled that he faced up to 20 years in prison.
