Couple jailed over 20 kg cannabis resin at Réunion airport
Four people arrested in a 2 October 2025 control at Roland Garros Airport were sentenced on 26 November 2025 over 20.1 kg of cannabis resin found in a mother's suitcase. The mother received two years and her husband three years of firm prison, with two accomplices given suspended terms and a joint 302,700-euro customs fine.
The Saint-Denis judicial court tried the defendants by immediate appearance on
Wednesday 26 November 2025.[1]A couple living in Saint-Nazaire were among the
suspects.[1]The woman was sentenced to two years of firm prison and her
husband to three years of firm prison.[1]The two other defendants were
sentenced to thirty-six months of prison with probationary suspension.[1]The
four convicted people must jointly pay a 302,700-euro customs fine.[2]The
couple’s infant, a few months old, remains placed with child-welfare services.[1]The mother travelled with her three-month-old baby, who was entrusted to
child welfare.[2]
On 2 October 2025 a joint operation at Roland Garros Airport led to four people
being detained.[1]Officers seized20.1 kg of cannabis resin in the operation.[3]Police, gendarmerie and customs officers checked more than 500 passengers
on flights AF648 and AF652.[2]Customs estimated the market value of the resin
at 302,700 euros.[2]
The four defendants were tried for drug trafficking and criminal association
before the Saint-Denis correctional court.[2]The prosecutor had requested
three years in prison for the woman and her husband.[3]The husband’s lawyer
called the penalty acceptable.[1]He added that cannabis is not cocaine and
that three years for commissioning a 20 kg resin import did not seem excessive.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Imaz Pressimazpress.comFROpération anti-drogues à Gillot : deux ans ferme pour la mère interpellée avec son bébé et 20 kilos de cannabis
LINFO.relinfo.reFRLa femme voyageant avec son bébé de trois mois interceptée avec 20,1 kg de résine de cannabis écrouée
Open questions the AI reported
Imaz Press identifies the mother travelling with the baby as Fatihou A., while other accounts name her as Naila A.; first names are omitted here pending clarification.
Réunion La 1ère describes the two accomplices as a man and a woman, while LINFO.re describes them as two men; their genders are omitted here.
Imaz Press dates the immediate-appearance hearing to Wednesday 27 November, while Réunion La 1ère and LINFO.re give Wednesday 26 November 2025, which this report uses.
The weight is given as more than 20 kilos, 20 kilos and 20.1 kg; this report records the precise 20.1 kg figure.
Customs officers at Roland-Garros airport arrested a 20-year-old man arriving from Paris on 10 September 2026 with 37 kg of cannabis resin and 15 kg of cocaine. The court later found him guilty and sentenced him to five years in prison with continued detention and a five-year ban from Réunion.
The Saint-Denis appeal court raised the sentences of three of four men who ran zamal from Réunion to Mauritius between July 2023 and April 2025. The former chief of staff of the Sainte-Suzanne mayor and a second defendant drew seven years each, a third five years; the fourth term stayed at four years.
The Saint-Denis criminal court convicted all twelve defendants in the Réunion–Mauritius zamal trafficking case on 12 June 2026, jailing former Sainte-Suzanne chief of staff Bertrand de Boisvilliers for four years. Laurent Mariaye drew five years, and investigators tied the network to 147 kg of cannabis seized aboard de Boisvilliers's boat.
The Saint-Denis correctional court sentenced a 43-year-old British former English teacher to two years in prison with continued detention on 10 June 2026, after customs found 16.5 kg of cannabis herb in his luggage on arrival from Bangkok. The court rejected his account that he believed he was carrying computer servers, and he also faces a 214,500-euro customs fine.
