Overview
- Judges began proceedings without Sofiane Hambli, who remains jailed in Morocco, denying a defense bid to postpone the case because of his absence.
- French requests for Hambli’s temporary transfer went unanswered by Morocco, and the court noted he bears responsibility for not appearing after breaching French supervision in 2020.
- François Thierry is tried with 17 co-defendants over a 2015 operation in which 7.1 tonnes were seized in Paris from a larger shipment monitored under Ocrtis, facing counts including complicity in trafficking and destruction of evidence.
- Investigating judges sent the case to trial despite a 2023 prosecution request for dismissal, citing omissions they say enabled Hambli, including sparse judicial briefings, lifted surveillance, a meeting without arrest, and the return of an encrypted phone.
- The scandal has already reshaped France’s anti-drug framework, with Ocrtis dismantled, Ofast created, and a 2019 law now regulating so-called surveilled deliveries.