Steven Toplass
Steven Toplass, a 38 year old British national and lorry driver by profession, was arrested on 6th February 2004 by Spanish police near to Alicante after 400kg of cannabis was found in the lorry he was driving. He was undertaking a one-off job for a new employer. Earlier, Steven had waited in a restaurant, as instructed, for six hours whilst the truck was loaded in his absence. Mobile telephone records show he was in regular contact with his employer to express his concern at the length of the delay.
It is now known that Stephen’s employer is currently facing conspiracy to import cannabis charges in the UK for his role in the events. The Crown Prosecutor in the UK looked into Steven’s involvement as part of the case against his employer and concluded that there was no evidential basis for prosecuting Stephen as a party to the conspiracy.
Before Steven’s trial, an officer from the UK National Crime Squad who was part of the Crown Prosecution’s investigation in the UK, informed the Spanish Judge of their belief that Steven was used to transport the drugs without his knowledge. Stephen’s defence lawyer was also given the opportunity to access this information but inexplicably did not use it to defend his client. Steven refused the Spanish prosecution’s offer of guilty plea and lesser sentence in order to try and clear his name. In spite of the objective evidence in his favour, Steven was convicted by the Spanish authorities and sentenced in July 2004 to 3 years and 6 months plus a fine of €600,000. An appeal was lodged and dismissed with judgement of 12th of November 2004. Both judgements note that it was impossible to identify the owner of the company, to whom the English truck, Mr Toplass was driving, belonged. Yet a simply “google search” with the name of the business, written ion the truck itself would have led the Spanish investigating team directly to Mr Toplass’ employer and his full contact details. As far as we are aware, the Spanish authorities never made contact with their British counterparts with the request for any information. Otherwise they would have been informed, that the whole “gang” had been arrested only 11 days after Steven’s initial arrest and that he was not part of their conspiracy.
Some months after his conviction, the UK National Crime Squad held a meeting with English and Spanish police, Steven’s lawyer and an independent witness regarding their investigation into Steven’ employer. The National Crime Squad revealed that their investigation strongly suggested Steven’s innocence and particularly that he was unaware of the content of the load.
This evidence was presented to the Presiding Judge in Spain in February 2005. Initially the Judge would not recognise the UK Crown Prosecution Service logo and even after the Foreign & Commonwealth Office authenticated the documents, declined to examine the evidence they contained.
Eurojust have been contacted by Fair Trials Abroad in the hope that they will be able to find a solution within the Spanish judicial system.
The relevant UK National Crime Squad and Crown Prosecution Officials are deeply concerned by the events. Steven’s MP and MEP have been contacted and are pursuing diplomatic avenues.
Main Grounds of concern regarding fair trial procedures:
- According to our information Steven was physically assaulted by custom officials upon his arrest and was left in a cell for two days with only a T-shirt and a blanket.
- He was interviewed in Spanish and signed a receipt for his belongings in Spanish although he does not understand the language. Cash and personal belongings are missing and not accounted for on the receipt he signed.
- Steven received no translation upon his arrest; during his trial he received only inconsistent and inadequate translation, denying him the opportunity to understand the judicial proceedings that concerned his liberty
- Steven’s lawyer did not fulfil his duty of care to his client. Further, the lawyer does not speak English, nor did he appoint an interpreter, thus posing questions of adequacy of the legal representation. Steven’s lawyer tried and failed to initiate expulsion proceedings without consulting his client. Fair Trials Abroad is aware that for the last four years no foreigner has been expelled instead of serving a conviction, because article 89.1 of the Spanish Criminal Code has been regarded as discriminatory to Spanish citizens. Thus four months were wasted chasing a procedure with no realistic chance of success
This case highlights the increasingly apparent danger that lorry drivers are open to exploitation as innocent drug mules for criminal enterprises. It is especially worrying that the Spanish authorities refuse to consider evidence from their UK counterparts indicating a gross miscarriage of justice, despite the desire of the European Union to increase cooperation in such areas. It appears that cross-border cooperation is forthcoming where investigations point to criminal prosecutions, but that cooperation is slower and much more difficult where investigations indicate miscarriages of justice by the authorities of state.
This is what you can do to support Steven Toplass:
-
Write to Steven Toplass to give him some encouragement and address the letter to our office. Stephen is moving prisons at the moment and we will make sure that he receives your correspondence.
-
Write to Steven’s MP, Mr George Stevenson, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, who shares FTA’s concerns about Steven’s case.
-
Write to Steven’s MEP, Mr Michael Cashman, West Midlands Labour European Office, Terry Duffy House, Thomas Street, West Bromwich, B70 6NT.
-
Raise awareness about the risks which law abiding lorry drivers face. By the very nature of their work, as they frequently cross international borders, they are often used by criminals to hide illegal substances in their cargo. If you or a member of your family is in the haulage business, you could write to the editors of your local and national newspapers.
Source Fair Trials Abroad
