Moroccan Man Sentenced to 5 Years for Smuggling $1 Million in Cocaine into France

In addition to the prison sentence, Bouzekri A. was also fined 950,000 euros in customs duties and banned from French territory for ten years. The facts date back to last Sunday, August 7th. A customs patrol spotted his Opel Mokka, registered in Belgium, on the A22 motorway, reports La Voix du Nord. During the inspection, the officials discovered more than 19 kilos of cocaine rocks valued at 950,000 euros. "We don’t make this kind of seizure every day," sighs prosecutor Camille Gourlin. "I didn’t know what it was," Abboubi assures.

"You knew it was drugs, the president Aurélie Veron tells him. The vehicle is yours." The defendant claims to have made his first shipment. From Brussels, via Antwerp, he was supposed to reach Spain and pocket 3,000 euros. The public prosecutor’s representative has a hard time believing him. "Almost 20 kilos of cocaine, that seems a lot for someone who has never made a trip," the public prosecutor’s representative points out. "I have a well-educated family that has nothing to do with this," the suspect protests. Unable to convince, Abboubi Bouzekri was sentenced to five years in prison, 950,000 euros in customs fines and a ten-year ban from French territory.