The 43-year-old was caught with a colossal quantity of tobacco in Longlaville, France, on 24 November. The hall included 2,500 packs of rolling tobacco and eleven cartons of cigarettes, totalling 420kg, according to the Républicain Lorrain.
It was a record seizure, according to the Val de Briey court. “I have no excuse”, admitted the defendant, who was not a first-time offender.
In fact, on the day he was arrested, the man was already subject to a ban on leaving the country as he was being prosecuted with six other people for importing tobacco in an organised gang, having made 18 journeys from Calais to Luxembourg between October 2021 and June 2022.
“I received €300 to make this journey”, explained the defendant. “It was just to get by at the end of the month before starting a job.”
The explanation was not enough to soften the court’s resolve, as he received a serious punishment: a €220,600 fine and 16 months’ imprisonment, six of which are suspended on probation for two years. The remaining 10 months will be served under house arrest and electronic monitoring.
