Kevin Keogh - France

December 03

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On 18 November 2003, Kevin was released on bail after 18 months on remand and allowed to return to the UK. It is not known yet whether the charges against him will be dropped or whether he will have to return to France and stand trial.

Irish family man Kevin Keogh has been working as a lorry driver since 1995. Less than six weeks into a new job with an Irish haulier, French Customs officers pulled his lorry out of a queue at the French boarder town of Perthus on a return journey from Spain. His trailer was searched but nothing was found. Customs officers then offloaded the 4 batches of ceramic tiles that Kevin had loaded in Spain and broke through the metal floor of the trailer. A total of 1032 Kg of Cannabis resin was found.

The facts in Kevin’s case are similar to those of many other lorry drivers in similar situations;

1. The addresses and procedures followed during the delivery gave no cause for suspicion
2. Kevin followed the instructions of his employer throughout the trip.
3. He kept all the receipts for road tolls, accommodation and diesel during the trip, which can be used to establish his movements. The valid CMR's give also credibility to his story.
4. When Kevin took over the empty trailer in Spain, he conducted the usual checks to make sure that everything was in good working order; brakes, lights and landing gear. The metal floor showed no sign of interference and Kevin had no reason to be suspicious. The only way he could have checked what was below the floor was to cut open the steel floor.

Fair Trial Issues

1. No lawyer was present at the police interview.
2. None of the court documents were ever translated for Kevin.
3. He was asked to sign documents in a language he did not understand.
4. He did not see his lawyer prior to any remand hearings so he could not provide instructions.
5. At an appeal hearing in Montpellier, his lawyer did not see the files in time and was therefore unable to argue the case.

In the meantime, shortly after Kevin's arrest, the Irish police arrested his employer and charged him with the importation of drugs into Ireland. When questioned about Kevin, the employer readily admitted that he had used him as a drugs mule without his knowledge. The Irish police informed their French counterparts of this, but the information did not seem to reach the investigating magistrate. This is not an isolated incident, but a common occurrence in most of our cross-border cases.