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In Saint-Barthélemy, it's almost disconcertingly easy to get hold of cocaine. Is it as easy as buying a loaf of bread? Probably not. Although, to listen to its enthusiasts, the circulation and consumption of this drug on the island appear edifyingly banal. Which is no secret to anyone. The most difficult thing, no doubt, is to admit that this illicit substance is an integral part of a festive holiday on Saint-Barth for some of its visitors and residents, whether temporary or not. The result can sometimes be excesses and tragedies. A 34-year-old seasonal worker had a tragic experience of this on June 4. The case was heard by the magistrates' court in Saint-Barthélemy on Thursday November 28.
Four defendants were summoned to appear before the court on charges of illegal use of narcotics. Three women and one man. They are aged 28, 29 and 33. He is 32. All were present at the June 4 party organized at a residence on the island. However, only one of the defendants entered the courtroom when the presiding judge called the defendants to the stand. The other three had left Saint-Barthélemy at the end of the tourist season and, after seeing their friend die of a cocaine overdose before their very eyes, they explained that they had no intention of returning.
A fatal first hit
On June 4, the gendarmerie and emergency services were alerted. A man in his thirties was in cardiac arrest at a party in a residence on the island. When the emergency services arrived on the scene, they immediately took charge of the victim. For nearly three hours, according to the evidence presented at the court hearing, multiple attempts were made to resuscitate him. All to no avail. The victim was pronounced dead, and those present were questioned. In particular, the four accused in the case.
All admitted to having consumed cocaine during the evening. Two of the women said they had bought a gram in preparation for the party. For forty euros. Another admits to having used cocaine regularly since her arrival on the island. Finally, the man admits to having also bought and brought "coke" to the party on June 4. As for their deceased friend, he allegedly "snorted" the substance for the first time during the party.
"The guilt is there
The young defendant, the only one on the stand, faced the public prosecutor's questions with dignity. Even if her voice shows obvious suffering. He was a very close friend, it's tragic," she murmurs. I'll never use cocaine again. If we hadn't bought it and brought it back... The guilt is there..." The prosecutor asks: "Did you see the victim die? "The defendant replies, in a whisper: "Yes...".
"The drug dealers laugh".
None of the defendants had ever been in trouble with the law before. However, the public prosecutor, who explained that she did not appreciate the absence of three of the four defendants, warned before her closing arguments that she intended to "charge them". In fact, the representative of the Public Prosecutor's Office displayed the utmost firmness when making her request. Here, drug traffickers laugh and have fun," she scolds in her preamble. On the nice boats, in the nice hotels, they're laughing! And then comes the moment when you see a friend die before your very eyes, on the steps of a staircase. Because cocaine kills everyone, whatever their social background. Is it fun? Is it festive? The results are rarely so. "The prosecutor castigates "a trivialized use" of cocaine in Saint-Barthélemy. "We're dealing with people who are integrated into society but who have contacts," she continues. And the tragedy is that on Saint-Barthélemy as on Saint-Martin, cocaine is cheap. "
Determined to make her mark, she called for a suspended sentence of six months' imprisonment and a fine of 500 euros for the three absentees, and a suspended sentence of three months' imprisonment for the defendant present on the stand. The defense lawyer was incensed by these demands.
A "moral sentence for life
Normally reluctant to get carried away during his closing arguments, Maître Paul Cottin was out of his depth when he heard the indictment. My clients are not Pablo Escobar," he exclaims. Before being a criminal case, this is a tragic event that everyone has lived through, in atrocious conditions. Yes, it's all too easy to find cheap cocaine in Saint-Barthélemy. But this is not a cocaine trafficking trial! The defendants, all unknown to the police and the courts, are being prosecuted for illegal use of narcotics. The penalty is a 200-euro fine. So when I hear a six-month suspended prison sentence, I'm stunned! "
The defense lawyer continues: We're dealing with occasional, well-educated, hard-working consumers who immediately cooperated with the gendarmes," he points out. They were totally transparent. At the time of the incident, there was no indication that cocaine was the cause of the victim's discomfort. The firemen tried to revive her for three hours before carrying her body to a sofa and covering it with a sheet. The moral penalty, the four of them will have to live with for the rest of their lives. So to ask for a suspended prison sentence, I don't understand. "
As her defender urged the court to be as lenient as possible, the defendant sat in a chair, trying to remain upright and dignified. But it was with a trembling hand that she wiped away the tears streaming down her pain-stricken face. Called back to the stand by the presiding judge, she did not add a word to those spoken by Maître Cottin.
The court condemns the four defendants to the same penalty: a 200-euro fine. In addition, the president granted the defense lawyer's request that this conviction not appear on bulletin number 2 of the criminal record. The case is closed. One man is dead. As for cocaine, it continues to be the "belle heure" of many afternoons and other festive evenings on the island.
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"Cocaine is commonplace in Saint-Barth".
At the hearing on Thursday November 28, another defendant was charged with illegal use of narcotics (cocaine, in this case) while driving his vehicle on the road. When he was stopped by the gendarmerie on the evening of July 29, he was still carrying half a gram of cocaine. Toxicological tests showed that he had also taken amphetamines. When questioned, he stated that he had bought the drugs at the party he was attending. "Cocaine in Saint-Barth is commonplace when you go out," said the 37-year-old defendant on the stand. He was fined 500 euros, ordered to take part in a road safety awareness course and had his driving license suspended for three months,
