Customs officials seized half a ton of cannabis at the end of the week from a truck registered in Spain on a motorway service area near Metz, a record in the region in recent years, announced the regional customs administration of Nancy.
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The seizure took place Friday on the Maxe area of the A31 motorway, north of Metz, following a traffic control. Metz customs officials seized 538 kilos of cannabis herb from a truck carrying watermelons and eggplants. In total, 480 heat-sealed packages with logos of cannabis leaves affixed to them were discovered in the refrigerated semi-trailer, the regional management said in a press release on Monday.
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The Colombian driver said "transport fruits and vegetables (watermelons and eggplants) from Spain (Zafarraya) and to Germany (Berlin)" , according to the same source. Tried in immediate appearance Monday before the judicial court of Metz, he was sentenced to three years of imprisonment, a final ban on national territory as well as a fine of 1.8 million euros. The goods that masked the cannabis were confiscated. The last seizure of this magnitude dates back to July 2019: the customs officers of the Thionville surveillance brigade then seized 528 kilos of cannabis.
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