This Wednesday, December 18, 2024, two Carcassonne residents aged 29 and 38 were tried to answer for a refusal to comply with a customs check followed by a chase on the A61 motorway to Carcassonne, where the car had ended up being abandoned in the Grazailles sector. It was March 2, 2021…
On October 16, 2024, Ken Lofti was sentenced to three years in prison by the Carcassonne criminal court, for his role as an accomplice in drug trafficking between Belgium and Aude. With another Carcassonnais, we remember, they had brought back nearly 6 kg of cocaine and 2 kg of synthetic drugs from the flat country, in January 2023.
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Carcassonne: go-fast aborted in the city, two suspects on the run
This Wednesday, December 18, 2024, it was once again before this same court that this 29-year-old from Carcasson found himself, to answer for the acquisition and transport of 510 g of herbal cannabis, but also for a refusal to comply with a customs check, followed by a chase on the A61 motorway at 200 km/h. This March 2, 2021 between Perpignan and Carcassonne, He was then at the wheel of a Volkswagen Golf vehicle with his cousin Hiliès, a 38-year-old from Carcassonne, as a passenger. He was also summoned to appear in court today, but held back by professional obligations, he was represented by his lawyer. On the day of the incident, shortly before 6 p.m., it was near Lézignan-Corbières that Narbonne customs wanted to carry out a check on the suspect car.
I collected this alone for my consumption, not for trafficking.
Despite the sound and light warnings activated, the vehicle suspected of transporting narcotics continued on its way. Before slowing down for a brief moment so that a plastic bag can be thrown away, and setting off again at high speed. The escapees are thus at 200 km/h on the A61 despite work zones, then take the Carcassonne Est ramp before pulverizing the toll barrier. On the Carcassonne ring road, the driver of the Golf will continue to take all the risks, going so far as to tear off the mirror of another vehicle. The Golf will be found near the town of Grazailles, without its occupants… Who will only be heard a week later, after going to the police station. In the plastic bag recovered, no less than 510 g of cannabis herb will be found, with a product displaying a THC level of 14%.
In court, Ken Lofti admitted the acquisition and transport of herbal cannabis, which he said he bought in an alley in Perpignan: “I had money on me for the car I was going to buy there, but the seller didn’t show up at the appointed meeting point. My cousin had gone to eat, and the opportunity was a waste . A guy solicited me and I told him I picked it up for my own consumption, not for trafficking.” Regarding the refusal to comply, the defendant explains “I panicked and made the wrong decision… I hoped I hadn’t killed anyone or hurt anyone”. On Hiliès’ side, we learn that he contests the facts of acquisition and transport of narcotics. He says he was unaware that his cousin was going to buy herbal cannabis, even though he smelled it on his return from Perpignan
At the public prosecutor’s office, his representative requested release for the acquisition of narcotics accused of Hiliès, but six months in prison (adjustable) for the transport. For his cousin, a sentence of twenty-four months in prison, twelve of which were suspended on probation, was requested, with the cancellation of his driving license. In defense of Hiliès, Me Hichem Laredj pleaded for release for his client, “who is not responsible for what he is accused of…” In the interests of Ken Lofty, Me Victor Font pleaded for a sentence fully accompanied by a probationary suspension, “in order to take into account my client’s exit prospects”. At the end of its deliberations, the court acquitted Hiliès of the transport of drugs, and sentenced him to 180 day fines of 5 euros for the remainder. Ken Lofti got away with two years in prison, suspended for two years, and the cancellation of his driving license.
