Overview
- Marseille’s criminal court on Oct. 8 convicted six defendants for importing and distributing pregabalin, a diverted medicine widely nicknamed the “poor man’s drug.”
- Judges imposed prison terms ranging from six to 18 months and ordered a joint €601,636 customs fine, with €7,900 in seized cash confiscated.
- Investigators say the network brought more than 300,000 capsules into France, with the haul valued at over €600,000.
- The investigation was sparked by an Oct. 18, 2023 arrest at Marignane airport of a traveler from Athens carrying about 11,000 capsules, leading to cumulative seizures of roughly 300,818 pills.
- Authorities describe routes relying on repeat flight mules from Greece and parcels sent under false names via La Poste or DHL, as misuse of pregabalin—sold on the street for about €2 a pill—has surged since 2018.