Porto-Vecchio: six people held on remand for drug trafficking
Six suspects arrested in the dismantling of a drug trafficking network in Upper Corsica have been placed on remand. Nine kilogrammes of cannabis, 500 grammes of cocaine and 50,000 euros in cash were seized.
Remand detention in Porto-Vecchio trafficking case
According to corsematin.com, six of the seven people arrested on Tuesday 13 October in the Porto-Vecchio region for drug trafficking and criminal conspiracy have been placed on remand this Friday 16 October, following a hearing before the judge for detention and release. A trial hearing will take place on 14 and 15 December at Ajaccio court.
The six defendants — Lavighju Andreani, Daniele Apollo, Lucca Bellini, Cyril Floutier, Jean Odone and Vladut Stefan Prisecaru — were presented to the magistrate in the context of a deferred appearance. The seventh person arrested will be tried under a different procedure: a guilty plea hearing (comparution sur reconnaissance préalable de culpabilité), a mechanism used when the defendant admits to the facts and allows for a swift judgment without a criminal trial.
The searches conducted alongside the arrests made it possible to seize substantial quantities of drugs. The prosecutor of the Republic of Ajaccio, Fanny Floquet, specified that nine kilogrammes of cannabis, nearly 500 grammes of cocaine, 80 grammes of MDMA and 180 grammes of crack were discovered. These seizures attest to a "multi-product trafficking operation", in her words. Investigators also found nearly 50,000 euros in cash, a handgun and ammunition.
Among defence counsel, Me Laura Furioli, representing Lucca Bellini, declared that her client "admits to his involvement" but ranks among the "small-time operators" in the trafficking, specifying that he was "a man in difficulty who was exploited". Me Marie Colombani, lawyer for Daniele Apollo, contested the necessity of maintaining remand detention, considering that his involvement and character did not justify it.
Lavighju Andreani and Jean Odone exercised their right to silence during police custody. Me Livia Ferrandi, counsel for Andreani, indicated that her client will explain himself before the court after consulting the case file. Me Jean-François Casalta, representing Jean Odone, specified that his client "contests the facts" and that access to the case file was not available during police custody.
Regarding Vladut Stefan Prisecaru and Cyril Floutier, their respective lawyers, Me Pintrel and Me Malamas, did not comment on their specific cases. However, Me Pintrel announced an appeal against his client's remand detention as early as Monday.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)