The case began with a simple check by the gendarmerie, in Beurlay, on June 9, 2023. The driver tested positive for cocaine. The police searched the vehicle and found 5 kilos of cannabis resin, 3 kg in a sports bag, the rest in small blocks with a swastika on them, pushed under the passenger seat. Before the Saintes criminal court, Thursday February 8, he assumes…
The case began with a simple check by the gendarmerie, in Beurlay, on June 9, 2023. The driver tested positive for cocaine. The police searched the vehicle and found 5 kilos of cannabis resin, 3 kg in a sports bag, the rest in small blocks with a swastika on them, pushed under the passenger seat. Before the Saintes criminal court, Thursday February 8, he assumes. It was he who transported the drugs from La Rochelle to Saintes, his friend who transported him was not aware of this.
The 24-year-old from Royan links his fault to a dramatic past. In November 2017, he witnessed a crime in Rochefort. Her brother, a schizophrenic, killed their grandmother. He had managed to save his nephews, aged less than 10 years old. “Following the trauma, I have a lot of flashes.” He seeks relief in cannabis. Drugs ? He broke a motocross bike in an accident in La Rochelle. The owner pressured him to repay 15,000 euros. He accepted this transport to pay his debt, fearing reprisals.
A strange wad of notes
He is calm, very polite. His attitude contrasts with that of the driver, consumed with anxiety. The president, Olivier Lalande, finds it hard to believe that he was unaware of the presence of the drug. Checked again in Royan twenty days later, he dropped a bag of 1.8 grams of cocaine. His wallet was thickened by 2,890 euros in cash. “You really have no luck,” quips Olivier Lalande.
“The money was savings that I had from my parents. I wanted to act proud, to show off by going to Royan with 3,000 euros,” explains the 23-year-old young man. His father supports his defense. In 2022, the family withdrew 5,000 euros in cash for the purchase of a used vehicle, which collapsed. The bank notes prove it. The police could not prove that he was dealing. The Public Prosecutor’s Office takes note and requests restitution of the sum.
Accumulation
But for Frédéric Ebel, the driver could not have known that his friend was transporting drugs. He lists a locker that is getting heavier. A sentence for having smoked a joint in prison, an escape from the psychiatric hospital which will be judged next Tuesday, and above all a criminal case in which he would have played a secondary role, which earned him the appearance of being imprisoned. “A criminal record would summarize a personality? We are not talking about serious crime. I see it fading over the months. The prison is destroying him,” says his lawyer, Me Alexandra Dupuy, “touched” by a young man who has been facing deep depression for two years.
“It is the very example that a victim of dramatic events finds it difficult to recover. He was not predestined to find himself before this court.”
As for his colleague, “this is the very example that a victim of dramatic events finds it difficult to get back on his feet. He was not predestined to find himself before this court. He needs help,” explains Me Bénédicte Bertrand. Due to lack of evidence, the Prosecutor’s Office did not request drug trafficking, only transport, requesting six months of adjustable prison time. This is the sentence that is retained. The same for his driver, who is also banned from repeating his license for six months for repeat driving under drugs.
2024-02-08 18:23:51
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