Moroccan Trucker Sentenced to 5 Years, Fined €7.7M for Cannabis Smuggling in France

In addition to the prison sentence, the Moroccan truck driver was also fined 7,700,000 euros by customs, which corresponds to the value of the goods found in his refrigerated truck, reports L’Indépendant. He was transporting 770 kg of cannabis pollen.

It all started with a check carried out on the night of April 21, 2024 at the large toll barrier of Le Boulou by the customs officers of Le Perthus, a commune in the Pyrénées-Orientales. They intercepted a refrigerated truck from Morocco and discovered six bales hidden in the rear doors of the trailer, 14 other packages in the truck’s pallet racks. These bales contained 770 kg of cannabis pollen worth an estimated 7,700,000 € on the illicit market.

The Moroccan driver was arrested, placed in customs detention and then handed over to the judicial police of Perpignan, before being sentenced on Wednesday by the court.