Moroccan Tilers Busted: 155kg Cannabis Smuggling Ring Cracked in Nîmes

It all started with a customs investigation into suspicions about the usual driver of a truck, a Ford Transit. Through surveillance and telephone cross-checks, the customs officers established nine trips made between Spain and the Nîmes region, reports Midi Libre. They discovered that a Renault Clio was used as a lead car with night-time trips. In June 2024, the driver of the truck and the car were arrested and held in custody for several months. In total, 155 kg of cannabis, packaged in "Moroccan suitcases" - large plastic bags with plastic handles - were seized.

During their appearance, the two men explained that they worked in the construction industry as tilers. One of them claimed to have made several trips to Spain to pick up materials. The deputy prosecutor does not believe their statements. Stéphane Bertrand considers these multiple contradictory statements. "When you try to explain yourself, you tell the truth. [...] I call that go-fast," adds the deputy prosecutor. The prosecution also does not believe the statements of the driver of the lead car, who claims to be making family trips and then to La Jonquera in Spain... "I call that go-fast," he says. He requests three years with continued detention for the Ford transit driver and two years against the lead car driver.

The defense lawyers, Gilles Gauer and Khadija Aoudia, pleaded the gray areas, but the court decided to convict the two defendants. Redouane T. was sentenced to three years in prison. Omar T. was sentenced to two years in prison. The court also declared the two defendants jointly liable for the payment of a fine of 300,000 euros.