The illegal cargo was intercepted on July 14 by customs, at the Corzé tollgate (Maine-et-Loire), on the A 11 motorway. No less than 2.5 tonnes of contraband cigarettes, or about 12,500 cartridges had were discovered in a truck that left Belgium and was heading for Saint-Nazaire (Loire-Atlantique).
This Thursday, the Angers Criminal Court sentenced the truck driver to 15 years in prison. The 37-year-old Armenian told the hearing that he was driving on behalf of someone else and was unaware of the contents of his load.
The seizure was a record for Angers customs. The value of the stock represented more than one million euros. Justice believes that the driver was part of a vast international smuggling network.
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- Angers
- Cigarette
- Tobacco
- Justice