Cocaine and cannabis trafficking in Saint-Gilles: a suspicious car and three men convicted

Six suspects were arrested by the gendarmes in Saint-Gilles Midi Libre – Midi Libre archive

In the Sabatot district, in Saint-Gilles, the gendarmerie dog spotted a suspicious car in 2023. Six men were arrested on March 18 and three of them were tried this Monday, March 15. nbsp;April 2024 in Nîmes.

The gendarmes found almost no drugs on March 18, 2024, in Saint-Gilles, during a series of arrests. 0.30 g of cannabis resin was seized from Kamal, the main suspect, implicated with five other people including two minors, in this cocaine and cannabis trafficking. The searches at the « nanny » – this man was the subject of an appearance on prior admission of guilt – are more fruitful. The gendarmes seize cannabis, three scales, a weapon, ammunition and a walky talky.

They recover two bags from a suspicious car

The investigation began on September 30, 2023, in the Sabatot district of Saint-Gilles, when the police dog stopped in front of a Clio. A dozen young people then « snatched », two bags inside the front car to flee. The car was finally returned to Kamal. He indicated that he left his car open at this location and had nothing to do with this traffic.

The gendarmes who persevered, spotted suspicious comings and goings, a few weeks later, in front of this car and still in the Sabatot district. Phones, cocaine and cannabis resin were seized. Investigations continue and the suspects are wiretapped.

" The car was no longer mine, Kamal defends, defended by Mr. Hugo Ferri before the criminal court, this Monday, April 15. His lawyer protests: " From the start, the inferences that have been made have been false. He sold the car to B. and the prosecutor decided to return it to the latter. There there’is no surveillance that involves him." For Willy Lubin, the representative of the prosecution, Kamal is"  the boss.. It’is this vehicle that dropped off the lookouts… If we do not put a stop to this trafficking, they will become the main employers in the region"  The prosecutor requested a heavy sentence against Kamal: 4 years in prison, revocation of a probationary suspension and a fine. Kamal is sentenced to 3 years in prison. His suspended sentence was revoked. He will have to pay a fine of 5,000 euros. The two other defendants, a dealer and a lookout who had come only once to the point of deal, were defended by Messrs Farouk Chelly and Camille Proix. The first is sentenced to 18 months in prison, revocation of a suspended sentence and a fine; the second is sentenced to 1 year in prison with a simple suspended sentence.