The man, who resides in Paris, was detained by French customs authorities alongside his parents on several occasions after crossing the border from Luxembourg.
According to reports from the Républicain Lorrain, the Sri Lankan family carried a total of 58 cardboard boxes filled with alcohol across the border in November 2020, containing 176 litres of whisky, 90 litres of vodka, and 30 litres of pastis.
The family had already been caught once previously in February 2020 transporting 586 litres of alcohol purchased in the Grand Duchy.
At the trial in Thionville earlier this week, only the parents appeared in court, arguing through a translator that they had purchased the alcohol “for a party”.
The mother underlined that she only accompanied her husband, not knowing the reason for the trip to Luxembourg. The husband on the other hand claimed to have helped his 26-year-old son. The latter has already been known to French authorities in relation to theft and violence.
Unconvinced by the party argument and aware of the cheaper prices in Luxembourg, the Thionville court issued a suspended sentence of four months in prison to each of the parents, as well as a €15,000 fine, which reflects one and a half times the value of the smuggled alcohol.
The son was sentenced to four months in prison.
