On 28 October, a 37-year-old man appeared before the Nîmes criminal court for drug trafficking after his van was found burned out on the motorway.[1] The defendant lived in Belgium and worked for a parcel-transport company there, and he said he had not known drugs were in the vehicle.[1] Described as previously unknown to justice, he was acquitted on the benefit of the doubt and left the Nîmes courthouse free.[2]
A man in his thirties had been tried the previous week at the Nîmes criminal court over the van that caught fire near Vergèze on 25 October.[3] On 25 October, a van caught fire on the A9 at Vergèze in the Gard and was found destroyed, with no occupants present.[2] Inside the passenger compartment, rescuers found cigarette cartons and perfumes alongside about 150 kilos of cannabis resin that was burning.[2] At the same time, a Brussels resident at the Montélimar rest area repeatedly called rescuers about his burning van, investigators linked the call to the Vergèze fire, and the driver was placed in custody.[2]
He said he had collected the vehicle at Sète to drive it toward Lyon and then Belgium, believing he was carrying olive oil, for 500 euros plus 1,000 euros in expenses.[2] He said he gave investigators the names of the people who had ordered the transport.[2] The prosecutor sought a one-year suspended prison sentence plus confiscation of the seized items.[1] The court acquitted him on the benefit of the doubt for lack of sufficient proof that he knew about the load.[2]
