Drug trafficking and shooting in Alès: heavy sentences handed down to the 12 defendants tried at the Nîmes court

Ce mercredi marquait le dernier jour du procès d’Alès au tribunal de Nîmes. Illustration Midi Libre – MiKAEL ANISSET

Après trois jours de débats, le tribunal de Nîmes a rendu son verdict dans l’affaire du trafic de stupéfiants d’Alès.

This Wednesday, January 8, the courtroom of the Nîmes court was divided between tension and emotion for this last day of the Alès trial. An express trial, started only two days earlier, which saw twelve defendants involved in a vast network of drug trafficking and armed violence parade. After severe requisitions from prosecutor Quentin Larroque this Tuesday, January 7, it was the lawyers' turn to plead the case of their clients before the verdict was delivered, shortly after 7:30 p.m.

Read also: Alès trial: at the Nîmes court, prosecutor Quentin Larroque denounces a "destructive" traffic and requires exemplary punishments

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“He took the wrong path, but he can get back on track”

Throughout the day of Wednesday, January 8, lawyers took turns trying to reduce their clients' sentences. Me Bigonnet, Samvel M.'s lawyer, insisted on his client's change of life, asking for a fair sentence that takes into account “human realities”. “Justice must punish but also understand”, he argued. For her part, Me Florence Mendez, defending Yanis N. – against whom 6 years in prison was requested –, highlighted her client's right to silence, emphasizing his positive development in detention. “We have to give him this chance”, she justified herself.

As the day progressed, everyone came up with their own arguments. “He took the wrong path, but he can reintegrate”, continued Me Coralie Gay, lawyer for Adel L., perpetrator of the shooting on May 4, 2022 in Saint-Ambroix, seeking to contextualize her client's actions while emphasizing his young age and the absence of a criminal record before this case. While Me Aurélien Vergani, defending Morad B. and facing up to 10 years in prison, accused the prosecutor of fabricating a network leader without concrete evidence.

Sentences handed down in the evening

The deliberations lasted several hours, before the court deliberated in the evening. At around 7:40 p.m., in the dock, heads bowed a little more as the first sentences were pronounced by Vincent Edel, president of the court. Djibril A., a key figure in the network, was sentenced to seven years in prison and a €10,000 fine, along with a five-year ban on staying in the Gard. Morad B., presented as the head of the heroin network in the Alès basin, was sentenced to seven years in prison and a €20,000 fine.

Ouefie B. and Taieb B. received identical sentences: 5 years in prison, with a €10,000 fine for the latter. Adel L. was sentenced to four years in prison and a fine of €5,000, while Yanis N. and Mohamed A. were sentenced to three and a half and four years in prison. Lilia B., Morad B.'s partner, got off with a one-year suspended sentence and a fine of €2,000, and Samvel M. got three years, two of which were suspended, and a fine of €3,000. Finally, Yannick C. and Samuel J. were sentenced to two and four years in prison respectively, while Mounir F. was sentenced to seven years in prison and a fine of €5,000.

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