British Trucker held in French Jail

UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUMS THE UK PROFESSIONAL DRIVERS FORUM (INTERACTIVE)
1

:smiley:
Hello Peeps
I’m on the scrounge for information to help my brother,Mike Hinton formerly of North Somerset UK,who is now in jail in France charged with Drugs Offences relating to his job as an over-the-water driver.
He has done this job for a good few years now,some on here will have worked with him at RT Keedwells,Cheltenham Airways,PJK in Pompy and a few more besides. He’s gone for years without major Dramas til in March 2006 the truck was routinely checked by dogs whilst at a Peage in the
Central Massif region of France.We have had minimal contact with him since that time,only by censored letters so some of the details are a bit sketchy.
He had collected a load of mixed goods from a central warehouse in I believe Barcelona,consisting of Machinery,Training shoes and pallets of Stone tiles.When the load was examined,the tiles,secured to the pallets with steel banding and shrinkwrap were found to be concealing 2.4 tonnes of Cannabis.
He was assigned legal representation by the court and finally went on trial in late july 2007,found guilty and sentenced to 6 years.
he is now appealing on the grounds of incorrect and false evidence,bordering on the incompetent by his legal team.The guilty verdict was based on false premise,including that in view of the value of the Drugs,he must have been aware of their presence on the truck because no self respecting
Criminal would trust their property worth that much to a complete stranger.It was also claimed that my Brother was the owner of the truck and trailer.
Time and again during my research on this subject I have found common threads linking the cases,namely:

:The Drugs are concealed in stone tiles
:The loads are collected from groupage warehouses in Northern Spain
:The Authorities in France appear to work to a ‘Quota’,targeting Trucks at a particular Route or time of day,almost giving the impression that they ‘allow’ a certain number of loads to travel unhindered.
:A widespread opinion amongst Drivers that some are ‘sacrificed’ for the greater good of the Activity.
The truckdrivers are assumed by the Judiciary to be guilty and complicit in the activity.
:A Less than thorough understanding of the facts,and poor legal representation by,local Defence Lawyers assigned Pro Bono.
:stuck_out_tongue:rejudiced view of the accused by the Examining Magistrate

I have been in contact with our local conservative MP who,on our behalf,is trying to ascertain just how many British Truckdrivers are now or have been in a similar situation to my Brother.Evidence that I have collected would suggest that this scenario is a regular occurrence. I have also contacted the Home Office,Foreign Office,Embassies,Consulates,Interpol,Fair Trials abroad,Prisoners Abroad,various driver selfhelp websites,anything I can find short of the WI and Blue Peter,basically…
I would be grateful for any info,thoughts or ideas that anyone may have on the subject,however slight or frivolous especially concerning other Drivers caught up in similar circumstances.We have had Jack zb help from the Authorities here and in France and its been a bit of a struggle to be honest,his Family and Kids are not doing good at times…
My Brothers appeal is to be heard at the end of October and this information,along with some other,will be of immense help to try to overcome the basic difference between UK and French Law whereby they assume Guilt unless otherwise proven.
Please PM with anything you may thing useful or if you want his address, I know that letters from old Mates would cheer him up no end…once he has learnt to read in English… :laughing:

thanks Guys.

Merv

2

Have you tried getting Jeremy Vine’s Panorama, or the “One” show on BBC to do an investigative piece?
Amazing what a bit on telly can do to help or bring someone useful out of the woodwork.

3

I can’t help you but good luck with your effort.

4

I suggest you contact Danneke, either through the Private Messaging system on the forums or through her website - www.drivershelpline.co.uk .That organisation is specifically set up to help in situations just like yours.

Other useful contacts include John Vasey - Zebadee on here - who has been in exactly this situation himself, also with tiles loaded in Barcelona IIRC , or even his father Ken - username Keelman - although he is not in the best of health these days and should therefore only be a last port of call.

There is also a member called Vascoingles who is English but lives in and works from Spain and has an interest in these cases…failing that his daughter Jen may be able to put you onto him or pass a message, as she is a more prolific user of the site and is less tied by tramping.

All the bits of the post above which are in BLUE are clickable links which will take you to the members’ profile pages so you can contact them.

I hope that is of some help, and wish you all the luck in the world in getting this sorted out. It’s sadly becoming all too common a story these days.

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Lucy:
I suggest you contact Danneke, either through the Private Messaging system on the forums or through her website - www.drivershelpline.co.uk .That organisation is specifically set up to help in situations just like yours.

Other useful contacts include John Vasey - Zebadee on here - who has been in exactly this situation himself, also with tiles loaded in Barcelona IIRC , or even his father Ken - username Keelman - although he is not in the best of health these days and should therefore only be a last port of call.

There is also a member called Vascoingles who is English but lives in and works from Spain and has an interest in these cases…failing that his daughter Jen may be able to put you onto him or pass a message, as she is a more prolific user of the site and is less tied by tramping.

All the bits of the post above which are in BLUE are clickable links which will take you to the members’ profile pages so you can contact them.

I hope that is of some help, and wish you all the luck in the world in getting this sorted out. It’s sadly becoming all too common a story these days.

Thanks Lucy :smiley:
I was in contact with John previously but the Guy didn’t need my problems on top of His own worries,Spardo has been a great help and a couple of others have chipped in with some really useful stuff too…
I tried the Danneke email but was bounced so not sure what the deal is with the site now… :unamused:

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wurzel99uk:
I tried the Danneke email but was bounced so not sure what the deal is with the site now… :unamused:

I’ll contact Danneke through another site and point her to this post.

7

I believe Danneke is away for a few days but I am sure she will contact you on her return as she is the best person to advise you on this.
I wish you well with this problem.

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el gordo 78:
Have you tried getting Jeremy Vine’s Panorama, or the “One” show on BBC to do an investigative piece?
Amazing what a bit on telly can do to help or bring someone useful out of the woodwork.

These type of cases have been discussed in the JV show before and basically you get the same people, who have no clue about what they are talking about, but are so clever and perfect :imp: phoning in saying that truck drivers should know what’s in thier truck as it can’t be that difficult to check every pallet. :unamused:

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Thanks Guys :smiley:

I guess that the most useful info will be a handle on just how many Drivers have been involved since maybe the ending of TIR Checks or Border Checkpoints.

Also It would be handy to find out the reasons given by the Judiciary in cases which were not progressed to Court or subsequently found in favour of the Driver.

The Family is very grateful for the interest and Advice from you Guys,keep it coming please and lets hope for a succesful outcome with the appeal :laughing:

10

well judging by the result to-night,therres gona be an alfull lot of ‘our boys’ in jail to-night,viva la Anglia :exclamation: :wink: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue: :stuck_out_tongue:

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I hate hearing about stuff like this and my heart goes out to your brother.

One thought - if the police have to rely on trained dogs to find the drugs, how is anyone without recourse to these dogs supposed to find drugs?

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Wurzel, as far as I’m aware, up untill my case, there had NEVER been a driver found Not Guilty!
Unfortunatley I and most other drivers are charged with " Importation, transportation and possesion" to which you are obviously guilty! The fact that you had no knowledge that your carrying illegal substances has no bearing and is no defence! (this applies even with a sealed trailer and signed/stamped CMR, as mine was!). The assumtion that the driver MUST HAVE KNOWN due to the value is a common one to and used to prove the drivers guilt. They even tried to say I had a posh expensive mobile phone that only crims could afford! (got it for nowt off T Mobile!)
You seem to have contacted most of the relevant people and organisations that can offer some help and advice both to you and your brother. I would say keep posting news and info on these and other drivers forums, keep people like Fair Trials and Prisoners Abroad upto date, keep sending e mails to the BBC (tv and radio) your local staions and newspapers and of course your MP, Euro MP, Home & Foreign Sec (they change regularly) and even Gordy and Dave the rave. Although Ming the merciless has just retired, it may be a good time to get on at his successor! ( He’ll want something to shout about in Parliament). Don’t forget, you can send e mails/letters to the French Embassey and their MPs, President etc in France to highlight your situation and they are Bound to Reply (their Constiution).
I’m not sure what other info your after, although I would advise not appealing the sentence. The Court will look at it unfavourably and as if your questioning their judgement and may increase it! As far as I’m aware, almost all Foreign prisoners dont serve their full term in a French prison, they do anything from 1/2 to 3/4, and that process wont even start if there is an appeal pending! Unfortunatly your brother has already been found guilty and sentenced. I would advise him to keep quiet, serve his time and come home as quickly as possible.(thats all I wanted, to be home with friends and family!) Then he can start a fight to clear his name but as long as he is appealing or questioning the judgement, he isn’t eligible for their type of parole! Sorry if thats not what you wanted to hear!
If I can be anymore help or if I think of anything I’ve missed, I’ll post it but I do wish you and your brother Good Luck and a speedy return home.

Best regards

John Vasey

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Merv/Wurzel

If you want to post his address here or PM it to me, your brother will at least get a Christmas card from us! It’s the least we can do!

Untill I was locked up, I wasn’t the best letter writer but cards/footy papers/ mags etc and stuff from home was always appreciated :laughing: :sunglasses:

Get onto CM and T&D for a FREE subscription sent out to him, cheer him up no end, and it’ll be circulated around all the other prisoners!

The Church and Red Cross send parcels to Prisoners at Christmas and get onto the Foreign Office soon about sending your own via the Consulate.

regards

JV

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For the info of others … letters, hand written and censored, are the only means of communication into and out of a French Prison other than when your family come to visit. There is no phone calls, e mails or anything else allowed so I know how hard it can be, not hearing any news or receiving any letters/cards etc.
If you could possibly send a Christmas Card, footy programme or anything else, especially on a regular basis, it will lift Mikes spirits no end and certainly make life better for him. :sunglasses: :slight_smile: :sunglasses: :slight_smile: :sunglasses: :slight_smile:

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wuzel

you have pm

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Wurzel, as far as I’m aware, up until my case, there had NEVER been a driver found Not Guilty!

This is true and there is a good reason for this.
In the UK you can argue that you were innocent because you did not know it was there.
Not so in other countries.
Their law states ’ You must not carry drugs into the country’
If you carried drugs in you were breaking the law.
It matters not if you knew they were there or not - you did it end of.
thats how it works over there. You only get released if you can prove you were ignorant of carrying them - but you are still guilty of the actual offence itself. Get it??
You have more pm Wurzel

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I have PM’d wurzel tonight, I am just back from10 days away, cant understand why any messages did not reach me, my e/m is dneale7@aol.com it changed almost 2 years ago. the www is still the same. Thanks Lucy and Mothertrucker for passing info on, also Simon. I will do all I can for the driver held
Danneke

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Welcome back Danneke, I’m sure you’ll do all you can to help.

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Mothertrucker:
[This is true and there is a good reason for this.
In the UK you can argue that you were innocent because you did not know it was there.
l

Not true of everything though, try coming through Dover with some immigrants you didn’t know about. :open_mouth:

20

Can I just say a huge thank you from the Family,for the Posts of support and PM’s offering advice and encouragement…

If anyone would like to write to Him here :

M R Hinton 28279
Ave Du Moulin de la Jusse
34753 Villeneuve Les Maguelone
Cedex
France

I know He will appreciate it… :smiley:

Whatever the outcome of his appeal,it ain’t over til the fat lady sings… :smiling_imp:

Once again,Many thanks for your interest and concern.

Merv