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Join on Telegram Rabat – A Moroccan man was sentenced to five years in prison in France for concealing nearly 20 kilograms of cocaine in his vehicle, French outlet La Voix du Nord reported.
The drugs were reportedly meant for the French market, the website reported, adding that the culprit will also be fined 950,000 euros, and be barred from entering France for ten years.
The man’s vehicle, which is registered in Belgium, was searched during a customs check. “We do not achieve this kind of bust every day,” prosecutor Camille Gourlin said.
Despite the defendant claiming that he did not know what was hidden in the vehicle, he was unable to convince the authorities and the judge, who cited his ownership of the car, saying it was unlikely that he did not know what he was transporting.
Earlier this year, customs officers in France also seized more than 300 kilograms of cannabis from two Moroccan drivers, sentencing each to five years in prison. The country also dismantled a drug trafficking network between Morocco and the EU.
A UN report in 2022 showed that Morocco is the world’s leading cannabis manufacturer and exporter, with the drug being illegally grown to target the European market.
