301 kg of cannabis in his truck: this Moroccan man is acquitted… but owes customs €1.4 million

Mohammed, who will soon turn 46, was stopped on July 21 on the A31 motorway, at the Gye toll plaza in Meurthe-et-Moselle. His heavy goods vehicle was travelling south to north with a declared cargo of products intended for bakeries.

A dog trained to detect narcotics raised the alarm at the trailer. When they searched the load, customs officers discovered heat-sealed bags hidden among the merchandise. They contained a total of 301 kilos of cannabis herb, reports L’Est Républicain.

On Bladi.net : France: 445 kg of cannabis seized at the border, the Moroccan driver ends up in tears and in prison

The driver, a Moroccan national living in Saragosse, was placed in customs detention and then taken into police custody. Employed since April by a Spanish transport company, he maintained that he was completely unaware of the drugs’ presence. According to his statements at the hearing, his employer usually assigned him routes within Spain.

He allegedly learned at the last minute that he had to make this delivery with another truck, as the vehicle initially planned had broken down. Mohammed mainly insisted that the trailer had already been loaded when he took possession of it. The company manager then allegedly accompanied him to the French-Spanish border.

The driver’s account contrasted with other cases recently heard in France. Last December, another Moroccan truck driver intercepted with 445 kilos of cannabis was sentenced to three years in prison. In February, a driver of Moroccan origin arrested with 115 kilos of cannabis resin received a three-year prison sentence, including one year in prison, and a €230,000 customs fine.

Three years in prison sought, but no intent demonstrated

Before the court, the prosecution had nevertheless sought a severe sentence against Mohammed: three years in prison, continued detention and a ten-year ban from French territory. Customs authorities, for their part, demanded €1.445 million.

His lawyer, Me Mathilde Roussel, focused her defense on one essential point: in her view, nothing established that her client knew what was in the trailer. She portrayed the driver as a man used without his knowledge by the real organizers of the shipment and challenged the choice of an immediate trial for a case she considered more complex.

Mohammed had already been named in proceedings related to narcotics in 2022, but had not been convicted. This element was not enough to convince the court that he had knowingly participated in transporting the 301 kilos discovered in his truck.

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The judges ultimately acquitted him of the criminal offense of unauthorized transportation of narcotics. He therefore escaped the three-year prison sentence sought and regained his freedom at the end of the hearing.

The decision does not, however, erase the customs aspect. The court upheld the offense relating to the transportation of goods dangerous to public health without a valid supporting document. Result: Mohammed leaves free, but with €1.445 million to pay to French customs.