An Italian was arrested Friday in the Drome while carrying 20 illegal immigrants in a van. Judged in immediate appearance in the Criminal Court of Valencia, he was sentenced to three years in prison.
At the wheel of a van that was carrying 20 Pakistani stowaways in inhuman conditions, an Italian was arrested Friday in the Drôme. He was tried in immediate court and was sentenced Monday to three years in prison, according to a source familiar with the case.
Inhumane conditions
The judgment, rendered Monday by the Criminal Court of Valence (Drôme) and reported by the regional press, was confirmed Tuesday to AFP close source file. The prosecution had required the same penalty.
The vehicle, registered in Italy and controlled by the gendarmes on the A7 motorway, was carrying 20 people of Pakistani origin, including four minors, without residence permit. Without water or food, especially, piled in the rear part of the vehicle, without window and closed by a padlock.
"They were treated less well than animals, traveling in the middle of their excrement," the source said.
"Worse than a convoy of beasts" 3 years in prison for migrant smuggler arrested on A7 Friday → https://t.co/9E3ogdTidO pic.twitter.com/EmjBWlR3j1
- France Bleu Drôme Ardèche (@francebleuDA) November 5, 2018Forbidden to stay
The court kept the accused in detention. Upon leaving, it will be prohibited to stay in France for 10 years.A person of Indian nationality who circulated at his side, also placed in custody, was put out of cause but will have to leave the territory, as the illegals, placed in administrative detention after the interception of the vehicle and the arrest of the smuggler.