the essential
There were seven of them to appear, Wednesday January 22 and Thursday January 23 before the Auch court. Detention, supply, transport, acquisition, use of narcotics of all kinds: all were found guilty of drug trafficking. Narrative.
“You have seven to judge today, but outside there are ten times more,” commented Me Sandra Vazquez in defense of her client at the Auch court. Cocaine, ketamine, ecstasy, MDMA: the proceedings have ended for the trial of a drug trafficking network in Auch.
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Far from the large cartels that plague Latin America, it is at a modest level that these Auscitains acted between 2022 and 2024, with complete impunity. Each in turn, they had to explain themselves on the stand. They were DJs, nail technicians, administrative agents and even cooks in collective catering. Ordinary profiles, seemingly impeccable, blending into the crowd.
A hidden but not necessarily happy life
Shadowing, scrutinized telephone exchanges, but also banking and tax investigations tipped off investigators from the Gers gendarmerie research brigade. The DJ, for example, could earn up to €2,000 for his entertainment services as in a famous brand in the upper town, which has since closed. Variable income characterizing a certain precariousness given his situation as an independent DJ. With his partner, the declared income, less expenses, indicates 600 euros left to live per month.
DDM – ILLUSTRATION SEBASTIEN LAPEYRERE
However, a closer look at their lifestyle reveals another reality. A cleaning lady employed in their home, a gardener, several loans taken out for work, regular meals at the restaurant: the court and the prosecutor note “that they did not deprive themselves”.
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On the partner's bank account, numerous unjustified deposits of money raise questions. Same observation for the nail technician. On social networks, she never fails to share meals where champagne and caviar are generously served. A life that may seem comfortable but in which drug addiction occupied daily life and resale financed consumption.
-For the public prosecutor, there is little doubt: everyone is guilty. This Thursday, January 23, the debates gave rise to the defense's pleadings. A stage of the trial opened by Me François Roujou de Boubée for the interests of this young couple of consumers who seem to have been caught despite themselves in the spiral of drug trafficking. Defendants who could have been the subject of a simple appearance upon prior recognition of guilt, according to the lawyer. “They didn't downplay. Did they buy? Yes. Did they sell? No.”
The young woman ultimately received a four-month suspended prison sentence. His companion gets off with four months in prison with a probationary suspension of two years. Both will have to pay a fine of €1,000 each.
Firm prison for Auscitain disc jockey
The former DJ, implicated for being one of the main players in the network, admitted the facts. He denounced his supplier and expressed his regrets. His lawyer, Me Noémie Duprat, underlined the “particular” nature of this case. Applying the principle of individualization of sentences appears essential, according to the lawyer.
Dealer to pay for his doses: with a gram of cocaine in his nose per day, care is necessary for the musical host, as is the objective of avoiding recidivism. At the end of the trial, he will spend the night in prison since he receives a five-year prison sentence, including 24 months with a probationary suspension. Having already served 11 months on remand, this means he will spend two years and one month behind bars. He will have to pay a fine of €7,000.
His partner, tried for money laundering and defended by Me Hervé Adoukonou, received eight months in prison with suspended probation and a fine of €3,000. “She sinned for love, she should have asked herself questions,” argues the defense. According to the lawyer, she only discovered the origin of the money when she was in police custody in January 2024.
“We only condemn with certainty”
The nail technician was sentenced to three years in prison, including 18 months suspended on probation. She will therefore serve a year and a half in prison which can be modified in the form of a bracelet. His lawyer, Me Sandra Vazquez, points out numerous “shortcuts” but also “uncertainties” in this case. A pleading similar to that of Me Noémie Duprat. But whatever the quantity, the sale is proven. Only, she was “paying for the addiction.” Today, the prosthetist is in a withdrawal period. “She’s trying to rebuild herself.”
Ultimately, it was the two brothers, judged to be the suppliers of this network, who received the heaviest sentence, a significant amount of five years in prison. However, Me Patrick Kabou implies that his client, the DJ's supplier, is not involved in this Auscitain trafficking. Although surveillance was set up, no flagrant transaction was proven. “We are on suppositions, we only condemn with certainties,” continues Me Roujou de Boubée, in defense of the brother.
On multiple occasions, the presumption of guilt was pointed out in the pleadings. However, the court had the last word by declaring the seven individuals guilty.
