Moroccan Truck Driver Sentenced in Montpellier Over 115 Kilos of Cannabis

The justice system wasted no time penalising the trafficking operation intercepted on the A9 motorway. According to information reported by the daily newspaper Midi Libre, the Montpellier judicial court sentenced a truck driver to three years in prison, including two suspended years, along with a €230,000 customs fine and a ten-year ban from French territory.

Read also: France: 445 kg of cannabis seized at the border, Moroccan driver ends up in tears and in prison

The events date back to last Thursday. During a check near Gigean, customs officers intercepted a convoy travelling from Seville to Frankfurt. Their attention was drawn by the unusual load: a Citroën Nemo positioned rear-first on the trailer, a technique intended to prevent the boot from being opened. Inside the utility vehicle, officers discovered 115 kilos of cannabis resin.

Read also: Perpignan: an empty Moroccan truck… carrying 400 kilos of cannabis

Tried in an immediate appearance hearing, the defendant, a Moroccan-born man legally residing in Spain and the father of five children, attempted to minimise his role. He claimed he had accepted the job for €850, a version considered barely credible by the prosecution given the actual costs of such a 2,500-kilometre journey.

Analysis of his phones revealed links to the drug-trafficking underworld and the sending of photos of road signs to prove his progress to his alleged handlers. The court followed the public prosecutor’s recommendations and ordered that he remain in custody.