Var A8: four years for 407 kg of cannabis resin in a lorry trailer
Customs officers found 407 kg of cannabis resin hidden in fourteen cartons among Christmas goods in a Romanian lorry at the Adrets-de-l'Estérel rest area on the A8 on 22 October 2026. The Draguignan court sentenced the 39-year-old driver to four years in prison on 26 October, banned him from France permanently and fined him 3.26 million euros.
🇫🇷 Aire de repos des Adrets-de-l'Estérel, Var · France
- Cannabis
- 0.4 kg
- Prison
- 4 years
- Fine
- EUR 3,260,000
Customs officers found 407 kg of cannabis resin on the morning of Thursday 22 October
2026 in the trailer of a Romanian lorry parked at the Adrets-de-l’Estérel service area on
motorway A8 in the Var.[1][2] The resin was hidden in fourteen cartons mixed into a load of
Christmas goods bound for Italy.[1]
The 39-year-old driver was sentenced on Monday 26 October 2026 at the Draguignan criminal
court to four years in prison, a permanent ban from French territory and a customs fine of
3.26 million euros.[1][2] In custody he first denied the shipment, then said he had agreed in
Barcelona to drive it to Rome because of financial pressure.[1]
Sources
- Var : un chauffeur condamné à quatre ans de prison après une saisie de 407 kg de cannabis sur l'autoroute A8. actu.fr, 28 October 2026. In French.
- A8 dans le Var : quatre ans de prison et des millions d'amende pour plus de 400 kg de résine de cannabis. Seven Radio, 29 October 2026. In French.
Open questions the AI reported
- The driver told investigators he was approached in Barcelona to haul the load to Rome for payment; the promised fee and the organisers’ identities are not reported in the sources opened.
- The same court day also sentenced a separate Spanish driver for 5.35 kg of herbal cannabis at Vidauban; that case is a different event and is not included here.
- No photograph of this seizure was found; only generic illustrations appear on the news pages.
