A family affair

The coiffeur bought 500 grams of cocaine and 3 kg of cannabis in May this year with the intention of dealing.

His half-brother and his cousin were his accomplices, the former was a delivery driver whilst the latter would carry the bag of drugs on him. Appearing at his hearing in Grasse the cousin professed that he did not know it was cocaine that he was carrying to which the judge retorted, "You thought maybe it was sugar?"

Once the drugs were in Cannes they were packaged for resale. Altogether, the business should have brought in a tidy 30,000 euros. A considerable amount, which the hairdresser hoped would ease his serious financial difficulties.

In regards to the allegations of drug trafficking the key defendant denied in court that he had imported illegal products from Spain claiming that he originally got drugs from Marseille.

The packages of cannabis and cocaine were discovered in the bedroom of the family’s apartment. During the search, the entire family was arrested for trafficking. Even the youngest member, a minor, was put before the youth court. However, prosecutor Audrey Gambin was under no illusion that the central character in this case was the 30-year-old ringleader of the trafficking operation. The court yesterday sentenced him to a four-year custodial sentence. As for his two accomplices, his half-brother was ordered to 18 months in prison whilst his cousin received a 12 month sentence, suspended for six months. HM