Drug trafficking in Brest: 18 months in prison for delivery driver with hidden safe in garden
A 39-year-old man was sentenced on Friday by Brest court to 18 months in prison for drug trafficking and money laundering between Gouesnou and Saint-Martin-des-Champs.
Convicted in Brest for cocaine trafficking and money laundering, safe containing €14,000 found buried in garden
A 39-year-old man was sentenced on Friday 5 June 2026 to eighteen months in prison by the Brest judicial court, of which nine months are on probation with suspension, for drug trafficking and money laundering. According to letelegramme.fr, the offences took place between Gouesnou and Saint-Martin-des-Champs, from 1 January to 7 March 2026, the date of his arrest.
An early-morning arrest with two minors on board
On the morning of 7 March, gendarmes spotted erratic driving by a motorist accompanied by two minors. Testing positive for cocaine, the driver was also found in possession of drugs. A search of his home revealed weighing and packaging equipment, accounting records related to trafficking, and nearly 183 grammes of cocaine. In the garden, a concealed safe contained more than €14,000 in cash. The total value of seized assets was estimated at more than €25,000.
The accused invokes debts and addiction
At the bar, the defendant, visibly nervous, attempted to explain his role. "The two minors sometimes accompanied me on deliveries but I don't know them," he declared. He claimed that these young people had alerted his employers who, having spare keys, had hidden the safe before the investigators arrived.
To justify his involvement, the man cited debts totalling €50,000, personal cocaine consumption of approximately one gramme per day at the height of his addiction, and accumulated personal difficulties. The presiding judge Subts retorted: "Given your debts, you would have done better to pay what you owed than use cocaine." The magistrate further highlighted an extensive criminal record, including previous convictions for theft, violence and sexual assault, and considered that the defendant was fully aware of the risks involved.
The prosecution notes efforts, court rules out any mitigation
The public prosecutor shared the presiding judge's analysis of the charges. However, noting that the defendant had sought to extricate himself from the situation since his detention, the prosecution requested eighteen months in prison, of which nine months on probation with suspension, a sentence that would have allowed mitigation of the custodial portion. The defence, represented by Me Le Faou, welcomed these submissions, seeing them as an opportunity for his client to break with his misconduct.
The court found the man guilty and sentenced him to eighteen months in prison, of which nine months on probation with suspension, but with no possibility of mitigation of the custodial portion. "You know the scene too well to claim you didn't know," justified presiding judge Subts, before adding: "Continue your efforts nonetheless. When you get out, you must not relapse."
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)