A late-night police stop in the Principality has ended in a heavy prison sentence for a 36-year-old man from Nice, after officers uncovered a substantial quantity of drugs, ammunition and cash in his vehicle…
The case, heard before Monaco’s criminal court on Friday, highlighted the growing reach of small-scale trafficking networks operating along the Riviera and the personal toll behind such offences.
As reported by Monaco Matin, the defendant was intercepted shortly before midnight on January 5 and found carrying more than 230 grams of cannabis resin, 41 grams of cocaine, ecstasy tablets, hunting cartridges and over €1,000 in small notes. Investigators believe he had been making regular deliveries in neighbouring towns after being recruited via social media, earning modest daily payments which he claimed were needed to cover basic living costs.
The emotional weight of the hearing was palpable. In the courtroom, the man briefly held his three-month-old son before judges delivered their decision, a moment that underscored the human consequences of organised crime, even at street level.
The court ultimately sentenced him to two years in prison, upheld his immediate detention and imposed a ten-year ban from entering Monaco upon release. Authorities were also unable to access his mobile phone after it was remotely wiped, limiting efforts to identify those higher up the supply chain.
While the defendant insisted he acted only as a courier, prosecutors stressed the danger posed by distributing illicit substances, regardless of scale. The verdict sends a clear signal of Monaco’s zero-tolerance approach to narcotics trafficking in and around the Principality.
