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Lille Court Sentences Abdelkader Bouguettaia to 20 Years for Le Havre Cocaine Network

The verdict follows a December retrial linking him to multi‑ton drug imports through the port.

Overview

  • The tribunal correctionnel de Lille imposed a 20‑year prison term with a two‑thirds period of sûreté that limits early release.
  • Judges also ordered a €1 million fine, and Bouguettaia heard the decision by videoconference.
  • Prosecutors had sought 9 and 15 years in two of the three cases retried, and he was acquitted in the third due to doubt.
  • The dossiers involved seizures totaling more than two tonnes of cocaine routed via Le Havre in shipments such as beef gelatin, wood planks and vacuum‑packed tuna.
  • Authorities described him as the leader of an organization with about 30 accomplices already convicted, and he faces a separate Paris investigation tied to a 2.5‑tonne container.