Three dealers jailed 18 months to 3 years over Saint-Barthélemy trafficking
The Saint-Martin criminal court sentenced three men, aged 21 to 43, to 18 months and 36 months in prison for running a cannabis and other drug trade on Saint-Barthélemy. The case began with a roadside scooter check, and searches found 1,044 g of cannabis resin, other drugs and 1,262.05 euros in cash.
🇫🇷 Tribunal judiciaire de Saint-Martin, Marigot, Saint-Martin · France
Three men aged 43, 37 and 21 were sentenced on 30 October 2026 by the
Saint-Martin criminal court for drug trafficking on Saint-Barthélemy.[1]The
two older men received 36 months in prison, 12 of them suspended, and the
youngest 18 months, 6 of them suspended.[1]Deposit warrants were issued at
the hearing and the convicted men went straight back to prison.[1]
The case began on 9 September 2026 with a roadside gendarmerie check on a
scooter in Saint-Jean whose rider had an unfastened helmet and a faulty
headlight.[1]The rider refused a drug test and threw a small backpack over a
fence, and gendarmes found cocaine, ecstasy, cannabis and ketamine inside.[1]A search of his home found more than a kilo of cannabis resin packed as ten
blocks.[1]The searches yielded 1,044 grams of cannabis resin, along with 612
grams of ecstasy, 131 grams of cocaine, 111 grams of ketamine and 1,262.05 euros
in cash.[2]The man was arrested and two presumed accomplices were identified,
arrested and questioned.[1]
According to Le Pélican, the drugs came from Saint-Martin and were carried
between the port of Gustavia and the men’s shared home in Saint-Barthélemy.[3]The prosecutor asked for firm prison terms of four years for the 43-year-old,
three years for his 37-year-old landlord and two years for the 21-year-old.[1]The defence lawyers argued that the men’s access to a lawyer during a
gendarmerie interview had been breached and that the facts were insufficiently
dated, and the court ruled on those requests with the case.[1]Le Pélican
reports that the youngest was acquitted of the transport charge.[3]Karib’Info
describes the case as directed by prosecutors from the Basse-Terre public
prosecutor’s detached Saint-Martin office, working with gendarmes of the
Saint-Barthélemy autonomous territorial brigade.[2]
Le Journal de Saint-Barth reports that the 43-year-old was lodged by his 37-year-old co-defendant for a rent of 3,500 euros a month, dealt drugs both at home and at the island’s sales points, and collected a bag after each ferry arrival from Saint-Martin to hand to the older tenant, who took part in the trade.[1]The presiding judge told the 43-year-old, after he admitted to ‘two or three things’, that his statements were changing as the hearing went on.[1]
Case data
Every number and detail the sources state, with the sources that state it.
Charged
3
Convicted
3
Sentenced
3
Cannabis
1.044 kg
Prison
36 months (12 suspended) for two; 18 months (6 suspended) for the third
Le Pélicanlepelican-journal.comFRSaint-Barthélemy. «Ils ont voulu faire leur beurre» : trois prévenus condamnés pour trafic de stupéfiants
Open questions the AI reported
The submitted article says the two older defendants each got 36 months with 12 suspended, while Le Pélican says three years firm with a one-year suspended term on a 24-month probation; the figures use the submitted account and both agree the youngest received 18 months with 6 suspended.
The submitted article gives 'more than a kilo' of resin and ten blocks, while Karib'Info gives a total of 1,044 g, plus 98 g of cannabis herb that is left out of the figures because it is a separate product weight.
The submitted article does not say whether the youngest was acquitted of any charge, while Le Pélican reports he was acquitted of transporting drugs yet still convicted and sentenced to 18 months.
Karib'Info calls the court the tribunal de proximité de Saint-Martin, while the other two outlets call it the criminal court of Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy.
The submitted article says the three were in pre-trial detention for more than a month, while Le Pélican says the case was first adjourned on 16 September 2026 and the men had been held in Guadeloupe.
The three accounts give different drug totals and no separate street value for the cannabis resin was published.
Le Journal de Saint-Barth says the 43-year-old collected bags after ferry arrivals from Saint-Martin and gave them to his landlord, while Le Pélican describes the older tenant as handling transport between the port of Gustavia and the home; the two accounts of the same leg differ in detail.
The article gives the monthly rent of 3,500 euros but does not say whether it was actually paid or only offered.
A 28-year-old driver tested positive for cannabis after rear-ending a car and injuring its driver at Percy-en-Normandie on 2 January 2026. The Coutances court sentenced him on 10 November 2026 to six months suspended imprisonment and cancelled his driving licence.
The criminal court in Troyes sentenced 47-year-old Ramzi Nefzaoui to 14 months in firm prison for drug trafficking and issued an arrest warrant. The case began when gendarmes stopped his Renault Laguna at Barberey-Saint-Sulpice in December 2025 and found cannabis resin, herb, cash and a scale.
The Fontainebleau criminal court sentenced a driver to five years in prison, including two years firm, over a fatal 2021 crash at Souppes-sur-Loing in which his 20-year-old passenger died. The court heard he had drunk alcohol and smoked cannabis and was driving at 135 km/h in a 30 km/h zone.
Anti-crime police in Passamaïnty, Mayotte, broke up a drug deal on 4 November 2026 and seized 3.334 kg of cannabis and 8,495 euros in cash from a suspected stash flat; three people were arrested. Two young men were tried in Mamoudzou on 9 November and sentenced to 30 months with 12 suspended and a 15-month suspended term.