Two Indian smugglers aged 31 and 24 were sentenced Thursday, January 26 in Bayonne to ten months in prison for having transported more than 320 people in an irregular situation from Portugal to Belgium, between September and December.
The two men had been intercepted on December 28 at 5:30 a.m. with 13 illegal immigrants aboard their van, at the Biriatou tollbooth (Pyrénées-Atlantiques), on the Spanish border, during a random check by the gendarmerie.
47 trips made
Thanks to the telephone boundary, the justice estimates at 47 the number of journeys made, passing through less controlled mountain passes between Spain and France, at the rate of 300 euros per trip for each passenger.
Either a gain estimated at nearly 100,000 euros.
At the helm, the youngest of the defendants, in possession of 1,700 euros at the time of the check, explained that he was a simple passenger.
His lawyer pleaded for release, "
perhaps not out of conviction, but at least out of doubt
".
The driver told him that he had not received any money directly.
“
Passengers paid before, to another person, who then gave me 500 euros for the round trip
,” assured this 31-year-old Indian, a heavy heroin user, like his co-defendant.
“
The person in Portugal took advantage of our situation
,” he insisted.
For the prosecution, which had requested a year's imprisonment, "
it was not they who organized this sector, but they took advantage of the precariousness of other compatriots, they lent assistance to this trafficking in human beings
" .
“
We must not confuse what the driver was able to take as money with what the sponsor was able to take.
He is not in the trade, he is a link in this trade
, ”argued the defense.
The two men were also banned from French territory for five years.
