Steven Toplass - Spain

March 05

Steven Toplass, a 38 year old British lorry driver, was arrested in Spain on 6 February 2004 after 400kg of cannabis were found in his lorry. Despite the complete lack of evidence against him, Steven was sentenced to 3½ years imprisonment and a fine of €600,000.

Steven was undertaking a one-off job for a new employer, who is currently facing conspiracy to import cannabis charges in the UK, in relation to this same operation. In fact, several people were arrested only 11 days after Steven, all in connection with this. The Crown Prosecutor in the UK examined Steven's possible involvement as part of the case against his employer and concluded that there was no evidential basis for prosecuting Steven.

Before Steven's trial, an officer from the UK National Crime Squad informed the Spanish Judge of their belief that Steven was used to transport the drugs without his knowledge. Steven'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 a guilty plea in return for a lesser sentence; he knew that he had done nothing wrong and wanted to clear his name.

Steven was found guilty of the charges against him. An appeal was lodged and dismissed.

Some months after his conviction, the UK National Crime Squad met with British and Spanish police, Steven's lawyer and an independent witness regarding their investigation into Steven's employer. The National Crime Squad advised that their investigations concluded that Steven was not involved in the smuggling and that he was unaware of the presence of drugs in his load. This evidence was presented to the Judge in Spain. He refused to recognise the UK Crown Prosecution Service logo and even after the Foreign & Commonwealth Office authenticated the documents, declined to examine the evidence.

The UK National Crime Squad and Crown Prosecution Officials are deeply concerned by this case. Steven's MP and MEP are pursuing diplomatic avenues.

Fair Trial Issues

1. Steven was physically assaulted by Customs officials upon his arrest and was left in a cell for two days with only a T-shirt and a blanket.
2. The Judge asserted that it was impossible to identify Steven’s employer, yet a simple search on Google locates the name of the company together with contact details.
3. The lorry was loaded in Steven’s absence over a 6 hour period.
4. 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.
5. Steven received no translation upon his arrest; during his trial he received only inconsistent and inadequate translation, denying him the opportunity to understand the proceedings.
6. Steven's lawyer does not speak English but did not employ an interpreter to communicate with Steven.

This is what you can do to support Steven Toplass:

1. Write to Steven Toplass: C.P. Topas, Modulo 6, Salamanca 37799, Spain

2. Write to Steven's MP, Mr Robert Flello, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA, who shares FTA's concerns about Steven's case.

3. Write to Steven's MEP, Mr Michael Cashman, West Midlands Labour European Office, Terry Duffy House, Thomas Street, West Bromwich, B70 6NT.