Couple jailed after 202 kg of cannabis seized at Mazères toll
Foix criminal court on 27 October 2026 sentenced a Spanish driver to four years and his Colombian partner to three years (two suspended) after customs found 186.45 kg of cannabis resin and 16.4 kg of herbal cannabis in their hire car at the A66 Mazères toll on 21 October.
🇫🇷 Mazères toll, A66, Ariège · France
- Charged
- 2
- Cannabis
- 202.9 kg
- Prison
- 4 years; 3 years (2 suspended)
- Fine
- EUR 617,750
On 21 October 2026 customs officers from the Frouzins inland surveillance brigade stopped a car at
the A66 toll at Mazères, in Ariège.[1][2] In the boot and rear of the vehicle they found 186.45 kg
of cannabis resin and 16.4 kg of herbal cannabis.[1]
The Spanish driver and his Colombian companion, neither previously known to French justice, were
held; OFAST in Haute-Garonne took the inquiry.[1][2] Prosecutors said the drugs had been loaded into
a hire car in Spain for delivery to Italy through France.[1][2]
Tried in immediate appearance at Foix on 27 October 2026, the driver received four years in prison
with continued detention and a ten-year ban from French territory.[1][2] His partner received three
years, of which two were suspended, with detention for the firm part and a five-year territorial
ban.[1][2] They were jointly ordered to pay a customs fine of €617,750, the stated market value of
the drugs.[1][2]
Sources
- "Une saisie significative de produits stupéfiants" : plus de 200 kg de cannabis saisis en Ariège, deux personnes condamnées à de la prison ferme et à 617 750 euros d'amende. La Dépêche du Midi, 27 October 2026. In French.
- Ils se font prendre au péage avec près de 200 kilos de cannabis dans le coffre : prison ferme et amende de plus de 600.000 euros. France 3 Occitanie, 27 October 2026. In French.
Open questions the AI reported
- The couple's names were not published in the Foix prosecutor, La Dépêche or France 3 accounts opened.
- France 3 says they were to be paid €20,000 for the Spain-to-Italy run; that figure is not in the prosecutor's communiqué quoted by La Dépêche.