Cannabis trafficker escapes Montauban courthouse before sentencing

The facts date back to January 14, 2022 at the Bressols toll booth on the A62 motorway. Customs officers intercepted a vehicle equipped with fake Spanish license plates transporting 375 kilos of cannabis resin, distributed across ten suitcases. The drug, transported from Morocco via Spain using the "go-fast" method, was valued at over 750,000 euros. The investigation would reveal that the driver made four cross-border round trips in just three months.

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In court, Nabil Akalma, 28 years old, attempted to justify his actions by gambling debts totaling up to 7,500 euros. He admitted to transporting the merchandise for a single trip, swearing he had only been a simple "assistant" during the other journeys. A defense line quickly corrected by the presiding judge: "You have a debt of 4,500 euros and you transport 375 kg of cannabis worth a million euros today?".

Facing this repeat offender already convicted in 2017 for similar offenses, the prosecution demanded immediate detention. The customs administration for its part claimed a financial penalty of 1.125 million euros, a sum denounced as "financial life imprisonment" by Me Delacroix, the defense attorney. The judges ultimately ruled for three years of prison time and 60,000 euros in fines.

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But at the time of the verdict, the defendant’s seat remained desperately empty. The trafficker coldly exploited a legal void allowing a defendant appearing freely to leave the hearing before the decision. The police escort, which was waiting in the courthouse corridors to take him to a cell, left empty-handed, reports La Dépêche.