“Haribeuh”, “Nutellhash” or even “Ohaschish”. Since Tuesday, 18 people have appeared in court for their alleged participation in a drug trafficking network which offered its customers bags of cannabis with creative names and designs. The playful side of the pooches was not to the taste of the Créteil court (Val-de-Marne) which sentenced 17 of them on Friday.
The defendant, nicknamed “Kirikou” or “Remontada Max94” and presented as the traffic leader, was sentenced to 10 years in prison and a fine of 50,000 euros, in accordance with the prosecution’s requisitions. He was in pre-trial detention after being arrested during a large-scale raid in 2022. But he continued to run the Meaux prison network where he is incarcerated. One of his lieutenants received eight years, another four years, two of which were suspended.
Illegal marketing agency
This file was divided into two parts: on one side a deal point nicknamed “Caliterter”, well known to the Val-de-Marne investigation services and located Place du Moutier in Villejuif, south of Paris. Dozens of its members have already been convicted during two trials which took place in Créteil in June 2022 and July 2023.
On the other, “Pochette Surprise”, an illegal marketing agency, which “Caliterter” called upon, from August 2022 to May 2023, to order the sachets, have the logos and slogans of major brands copied there by having use a graphic designer and a printer, then redistribute the pouches. The graphic designer and the printer both received a six-month suspended sentence for counterfeiting and a 2,000 euro fine.
“Ingenuity” of the defendants
Around fifteen companies filed a civil suit, complaining in particular about damage to their reputation and violation of intellectual property. The turnover of this operation was estimated at 860,000 euros, according to figures cited by prosecutor Adèle Ephraïm. The lawyers for the agri-food giants oscillated between acerbic amusement and indignation during their pleadings on Wednesday, emphasizing in particular the “ingenuity” of the defendants.
For Me Sevim Kasay, lawyer for three defendants, the prosecution and civil parties have exaggerated the role of her clients. “We split the file and to make it more attractive, we brought in the brands, we had to give it something more, attract the press,” she said in her pleading on Friday.
The public prosecutor recalled during his requisitions on Thursday that “drug trafficking is not a game” but represents “a fertile ground for crime and all its dangers”, particularly against a young public.
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