According to reports in France, the Romanian lorry driver agreed to transport 50kg of cannabis in amongst his load of vegetables.
For the job, he is said to have accepted a fee worth a month of his regular salary. However, his decision has backfired spectacularly with life-ruining consequences.
The 32-year old was arrested by French police officers at the Tavel rest area in the south of the country on Friday. By Tuesday morning, he had already been sentenced to 4 years in prison.
During the court hearing on Tuesday, the trucker said it was the first time he had ever transported anything illegal. His lawyer also implied that a lesser punishment should be dished out given that lorry driver was not the ringleader behind the sale of the drugs.
However, the prosecution argued that the lorry driver had 7 years of experience and knew exactly what he was doing and how much he would profit.
Besides the prison sentence, the lorry driver has been banned from France for 10 years and must pay a customs fine of €270,000.
Photo: Marc Mongenet, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons (image cropped)
