Immediate court appearance: three drug traffickers arrested in Saint-Barthélemy
It was during a routine roadside check that the gendarmes uncovered a drug-trafficking network and arrested the suspects, who appeared before a judge on Wednesday morning in Saint-Martin.
After 96 hours in police custody, the three men, aged 43, 36 and 21 respectively, entered the courtroom in handcuffs, under the close guard of six gendarmes. Among them was the man who is undoubtedly the ringleader of the network, a notorious drug addict who has lived in Saint-Barthélemy for 30 years and has already served two prison sentences. The second man, visibly moved by the presence in the courtroom of his mother and his pregnant wife, has lived on the island for 26 years; as for the youngest of the three, he has only been living there for three years and works as a landscape gardener, just like his two fellow defendants. The small group were therefore appearing in court on charges of the unauthorised transport, acquisition, possession, offering or supply, and use of narcotics.
See you in 10 years’ time?
The search carried out following their arrest led to the discovery of cocaine, cannabis, ecstasy and other drugs, as well as a significant amount of cash. The Public Prosecutor’s statement was brief but firm: she requested that the three defendants remain in pre-trial detention to prevent any contact between them, so that their accounts of the facts would not be altered at a later date. She also pointed out that the sentence for such offences is 10 years’ imprisonment.
The case has been adjourned until 30 October, when the three drug traffickers will learn their fate. Until then, they will remain in prison in Guadeloupe, and it is quite possible that other members of this criminal gang will join them before long, as the investigation continues.
