They were selling cannabis for personal use and for a few customers. Here is the profile of the couple presented in immediate appearance last Friday at the court of Arras and whose La Voix du Nord tells the story. The police found 85 grams of cannabis at their home during the search that followed the police intervention last Wednesday. The epilogue of an investigation initiated after a denunciation. For twenty-five days, the young man, Valentin*, was watched, his car geolocated.
Both admitted the facts. Over a period of seven months, it appeared that VB had acquired and sold 5 kilos of cannabis, earning him 3,500 euros. Orders were placed through the Snapchat app; deliveries were made close to their homes or to customers. Of the defendant’s dealers, there will never be any question during the hearing.
“You have to live, I can’t work and I don’t have any help”, explained this one weakly, suffering from serious back problems.
“You make a choice”
“You receive 928 euros paid by national solidarity (benefits). You make a choice”, objects the president, Ms. Astorg. “These are people who are very seriously dependent on cannabis,” puts the young woman’s lawyer, Me Weppe, into perspective. She, 22, evokes a therapeutic use to treat depression, he, 24, to relieve his back pain. They met in an educational home eight years ago, are parents of a 4-year-old child.
During the events, the defendant was on probation and on an electronic bracelet. “What can society do to help you if you do nothing? “Asks the president, anxious to place him before his responsibilities.
“He made the choice of the facility but it is not a trafficker who is displayed”, nuance Me Dupriez, his lawyer, highlighting the modest lifestyle of the couple.
The judges went less far than the requisitions. Valentin was sentenced to eighteen months in prison, six of which were suspended and a fine of 1,000 euros. His previous reprieve revoked, he was imprisoned in stride. For his companion, in a minor role: eight months accompanied by a probationary reprieve and a 500 euro fine.
*Assumed first name