Twenty-four people, all of Iraqi nationality, will appear before the Rennes criminal court from Thursday after the dismantling of a network of smugglers to Great Britain, the prosecution announced on Tuesday evening March 8.
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Following arrests in several waves, particularly in Le Mans and Châtellerault (Vienne), "
23 defendants will appear in detention, one being under judicial control
" and six other people are under arrest warrants, said in a press release the public prosecutor of Rennes, Philippe Astruc.
These indictments follow a judicial investigation opened in December 2018 after referral two months earlier to the specialized interregional jurisdiction of Rennes (Jirs), in particular for "
trafficking in human beings
" and "
help with entry, illegal movement or stay of a foreigner in the territory
”.
Delivered by two methods
The illegal immigrants were transported by two methods, explains the press release from the prosecutor.
“
The first way consisted in hiding the illegal immigrants in the trailers of the trucks parked on the rest areas (on the motorway) without the drivers noticing it.
The prices were around 5,000 pounds (about 6,000 euros, editor's note) for a so-called normal formula, depending on the type of truck (perishable foodstuffs, fridge) and the nationality of the illegal
immigrants, ”specifies the magistrate.
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“
The second means, called ''Intifakir'' in Kurdish or ''Formula VIP'', consisted of getting the illegal immigrants into trucks with the complicity of drivers, most of them from Eastern European countries.
The meetings took place in very discreet places and the trucks could contain furnished caches.
The passage presented many more guarantees, which raised the cost of this formula.
The rates varied between 8,000 and 11,000 euros depending on the degree of guarantee
,” the statement said.
The indicted are aged 22 to 53, according to the prosecutor, and "
some were previously unknown to justice
".
“
The facts were committed within the framework of a structured and hierarchical organization between smugglers, access to motorway areas having to be authorized for newcomers by smugglers already installed
”, sometimes opening the way to settling of accounts “
very violent
”.
The indicted "
incur a ten-year prison sentence, doubled in the event of a legal recidivism
", recalls the magistrate.
The trial, which begins Thursday, will be held until Friday, March 25 before the criminal court assembled in the Jirs formation.
