Dammartin-en-Goële: firm prison and reduced fine for the smuggler of 120 kg of counterfeit cigarettes
A force of nature. Ahmed’s build is impressive. Nevertheless: this Egyptian national wiped his tears, behind the window of the box of the Meaux criminal court. This 29-year-old resident of Argenteuil (Val-d’Oise) was tried in immediate comparison on Wednesday for “importing contraband tobacco and driving without a license”.
It was Sunday evening, when he was driving a Fiat Scudo, that he was checked by customs on the N 2, near Dammartin-en-Goële. Ahmed arrived from Antwerp (Belgium), where he had gone to collect more than 120 kg of Marlboro brand cigarettes.
“These are counterfeit cigarettes”, specified the assistant prosecutor Hervé Tétier, who requested six months in prison, with a warrant of committal, for this “damage to our economy” and this “unfair competition for the outlets of tobacco “. For their part, the customs services demanded a fine of more than 63,000 euros, corresponding to 6,069 packets of cigarettes, stored in twelve boxes. Tobacco which – since – has been destroyed by incineration.
Tortured and sold as a slave in Libya
Via an Arabic language interpreter, Ahmed admitted having already made five trips of this type between Belgium and the Paris region, since the beginning of the year, on behalf of a sponsor who pays him 1,000 euros each time. . The presiding judge was excited about the risks taken by the defendant, who is not in a state of financial need. He has indeed explained that he works illegally, not to mention that his companion also earns a salary.
Ahmed was terrified of going to jail. This Egyptian – in an irregular situation – asked to benefit from an electronic bracelet or to be placed in a detention center. Even if he was then to be expelled. And to explain his anguish: before setting foot in France, in 2017, he was “sold as a slave and tortured in Libya”. To prove it, he came close to lifting his garment in court to show the scars on his chest.
“My client has had a traumatic life journey. He knew the war, he suffered sexual abuse, which was broadcast on videos. His chair is injured with a knife,” pleaded Me Aminou Bouba, the defense lawyer. The judges did not follow the requisitions of the prosecution to the letter and pronounced a sentence of three months in prison, with a warrant, as well as a customs fine of “only” 1,000 euros.