Drug trafficking from Morocco: four French nationals retried in Rennes

The case came to light following the decryption of the Canadian encrypted messaging service SkyECC. The four defendants had already appeared alongside twelve others before the Rennes Interregional Specialized Jurisdiction (JIRS) for their participation in a 2.4-ton cannabis trafficking operation from Morocco between 2020 and 2022.

Several police and gendarmerie investigations were conducted in France, Belgium and the Netherlands to shed full light on this large-scale cannabis trafficking operation. Two weeks ago, the Rennes Court of Appeal released two defendants who were awaiting the case’s reconsideration, Actu reports.

Read: Cannabis and cocaine: trafficking from Morocco tried in Châteauroux

One of the defendants, who lives in Vendée, is suspected of having been the network’s “semi-wholesaler” in the region. Sentenced to four years in prison without parole, he is one of the defendants who appealed in the case. His sentence could be upheld or he could receive a harsher sentence.

On Friday, the representative of the public prosecutor’s office requested that the sentences handed down at first instance be upheld for “each of them,” arguing that the criminals had the same motive: “to make easy money quickly.” The verdict is expected at the end of May.