Drug trafficking in Sarthe: two convictions at Le Mans tribunal
A 37-year-old garage owner was sentenced to five years in prison for transporting 12 kilograms of cocaine, whilst a 47-year-old woman was punished for drug dealing in the Glonnières neighbourhood.
Drug trafficking in Sarthe: two convictions at Le Mans tribunal
The Le Mans tribunal ruled on 5 June 2024 in a drug trafficking case involving two defendants. A 37-year-old garage owner and a 47-year-old school bus driver were tried for their illicit activities.
The facts date back to April, when gendarmes conducted an operation against a dealer network. The investigation was triggered by the death of a man in his forties, found with a gunshot wound to the head in his mobile home in La Guierche, at the time of the police intervention.
This site housed a second mobile home occupied by the garage owner. During a search on 9 April, investigators seized cannabis and cash. On the same day, the defendant was arrested near Orange, in the Vaucluse. He was driving recklessly. Under the seat of his vehicle, twelve kilograms of white powder were concealed. He was returning from Belgium and heading towards Marseille.
Before the court, the man admitted accepting the transport to settle a debt exceeding €70,000. However, he contested the frequent nocturnal journeys between Sarthe, Belgium and the Netherlands, claiming they were purchases of spare parts. The public prosecutor expressed doubts about this explanation, finding it implausible that criminals would entrust merchandise worth approximately €400,000 to a complete stranger. The prosecution sought seven years imprisonment and €10,000 in fines. The judges imposed five years in prison.
The second defendant was the subject of an anonymous tip-off. Investigations established that she had been selling illicit substances in the Glonnières sector in Le Mans since early 2018. Her profits were estimated at approximately €35,000. She admitted to being dependent on hard drugs for more than ten years. Over €66,000 was found in her bank accounts and life insurance policies, a sum surprising given her monthly income of less than €1,000.
The public prosecutor had sought four years in prison, two of which suspended. The court opted for four years, one of which suspended, with a two-year probation period and a mandatory treatment requirement. Ms Margot Gazeau, counsel for the defendant, described the decision as severe, explaining that her client was merely a drug addict who had fallen into a trap to obtain her fix, not a member of a criminal organisation.
Throughout the hearing, both convicted defendants maintained they had no knowledge of each other.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)