Drug trafficking ring run from Béziers prison: five sentenced
A 25-year-old inmate was piloting a drugs network from Béziers penitentiary centre. Five people were sentenced on 7 September by the criminal court.
Drugs network dismantled in Béziers, ringleader operating from his cell
According to lagazettedemontpellier.fr, an investigation lasting more than six months conducted by the Lodève research brigade led to the dismantling of a drug trafficking operation orchestrated from Béziers penitentiary centre. Its instigator, a 25-year-old man, was already serving a three-year prison sentence for drug trafficking.
The public prosecutor for Béziers, Arnaud Faugère, clarified in a statement that the main suspect "continued to manage" the network "using secure communications means". He supervised suppliers based in Toulouse and Málaga, Spain, handled the accounting for the trafficking operation and coordinated deliveries of cannabis, cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy. The distribution area extended beyond the Béziers conurbation, as far as Rodez and Mende.
Four other people were arrested in connection with the case, including the partner of the main suspect. Searches resulted in the seizure of several kilograms of cannabis resin and plant material, cocaine, synthetic drugs, as well as a sum of money and a vehicle.
The five protagonists appeared on 7 September before the criminal court in Béziers. The ringleader was sentenced to six years' imprisonment, to be served in full, with a ban on residing in Béziers for five years. His partner received a three-year prison sentence, with eighteen months suspended on probation.
The three other men involved were sentenced to two years' imprisonment each, with between ten months and one year suspended on probation. "All were sentenced to fines ranging from 2,500 to 10,000 euros," concluded prosecutor Faugère.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)