Man arrested in France returning from Pas de la Casa with 30 cartons of tobacco and 111 bottles of alcohol

A 19-year-old man was arrested on Monday in Valence-d’Agen, in France’s Tarn-et-Garonne department, while returning from Andorra with 30 cartons of cigarettes and 111 bottles of alcohol. According to La Dépêche du Midi, he allegedly planned to resell the goods locally at lower prices.

Gendarmes also seized €550 in cash and estimate the tobacco’s market value at €32,000. The man is due to appear before the courts on Wednesday under a French procedure for cases in which a suspect acknowledges the offences, allowing a proposed sentence to be put forward.

He made weekly trips to Pas de la Casa

The investigation began after Valence-d’Agen municipal police reported what they considered suspicious activity. Inquiries found that a member of a family living in the town regularly travelled between Valence-d’Agen and Pas de la Casa to buy tobacco and resell it locally.

The man allegedly admitted making one or two trips to Andorra each week since July. On Monday morning, eight gendarmes from the local unit and the Castelsarrasin investigative brigade carried out the operation that led to his arrest.

Valence-d’Agen mayor Jean-Michel Baylet thanked the municipal police and gendarmerie for working together. He also said the family was known in the town for other incidents.

The young man’s father and his partner face an assault case

Baylet recalled that the young man’s father and his partner are due in court on 9 February 2027 over an alleged assault on the mayor on 8 August.

According to La Dépêche du Midi, the incident allegedly took place after the mayor went to a home on Rue Chevalier-Toile following noise complaints. The couple will face allegations of intentional violence against a public official.