Father-of-one John Vasey, owner of Houghton-le-Spring-based JD Vasey Transport, was stopped by French Customs in Perpignan on 28 February 2003 on his way back from Spain.[1] Officers searched his vehicle and found cannabis resin in two shrink-wrapped UK-bound pallets he had collected from a regular client in Barcelona, a load valued at £2.5 million.[1] He was detained in prison in the Marseilles area while awaiting trial, which was expected to take up to four months.[1]
His wife Emma said it was his first collection for the client, that the groupage load was palletised and shrink-wrapped so he could not have known what was inside, and that the company due to receive the delivery had never been in touch.[1]
Appeal fails, trial awaited
By August 2003 Vasey had lost an appeal against his continued detention; Emma said prosecutors warned that freeing him would mean freeing other British drivers held in Perpignan prison.[2] Truck drivers staged a go-slow convoy of more than 40 vehicles from Washington to London and handed a 2,500-signature petition to the French charge d’affaires.[2] In January 2004, held for nearly a year without trial, he was due before a judge on 4 February, though his father Ken was unsure whether it would be more than another four-monthly remand hearing.[3]
