Vergennes
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@Nilgiri Meanwhile in other parts of the world. 
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A jailed French arms dealer whose BMW was confiscated after his arrest has lost his licence because of a series of traffic violations committed by police officers driving the seized vehicle on official duty.
The man from the southwestern town of Lunel was arrested in 2013 with two Kalashnikov assault rifles and two pistols in his vehicle, Midi Libre newspaper reported.
Police later requisitioned the powerful BMW 118D as they are allowed to do under a French law brought in in 2011.
But since the dealer’s imprisonment he has received regular letters in his jail at Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, near Montpellier, informing him of what authorities deem to be his latest speeding or other traffic violations.
He received for example a fine for driving 12 kilometres per hour over the permitted speed limit on the A9 motorway between Beziers and Nîmes on November 28 last year.
He was in his cell that day. A series of other fines have been sent to him, each time with a loss of points on his licence.
Then he received a final one saying he had no points left and that his licence was revoked.
“That was the cherry on the cake!” his lawyer Cyril Malgras told Midi Libre. “This is a total aberration.”
The lawyer has written to the relevant authorities several times to try to get the licence returned but without success.
French police have been permitted since 2011 to use cars seized from suspects even before the suspects are convicted and are awaiting trial.
The vehicles, once an expert has provided an evaluation of the vehicle’s worth, can be used “by police, gendarme units, or customs units who are carrying out police duties,” the law states.
It says that the owner of the car can be compensated for wear and tear caused by use by law enforcement officers if they are not in the end convicted of the crime they were charged with.
But the law does not say anything about traffic offences by officers using confiscated vehicles.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...mans-car-then-take-it-for-a-spin-and-rack-up/
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A jailed French arms dealer whose BMW was confiscated after his arrest has lost his licence because of a series of traffic violations committed by police officers driving the seized vehicle on official duty.
The man from the southwestern town of Lunel was arrested in 2013 with two Kalashnikov assault rifles and two pistols in his vehicle, Midi Libre newspaper reported.
Police later requisitioned the powerful BMW 118D as they are allowed to do under a French law brought in in 2011.
But since the dealer’s imprisonment he has received regular letters in his jail at Villeneuve-lès-Maguelone, near Montpellier, informing him of what authorities deem to be his latest speeding or other traffic violations.
He received for example a fine for driving 12 kilometres per hour over the permitted speed limit on the A9 motorway between Beziers and Nîmes on November 28 last year.
He was in his cell that day. A series of other fines have been sent to him, each time with a loss of points on his licence.
Then he received a final one saying he had no points left and that his licence was revoked.
“That was the cherry on the cake!” his lawyer Cyril Malgras told Midi Libre. “This is a total aberration.”
The lawyer has written to the relevant authorities several times to try to get the licence returned but without success.
French police have been permitted since 2011 to use cars seized from suspects even before the suspects are convicted and are awaiting trial.
The vehicles, once an expert has provided an evaluation of the vehicle’s worth, can be used “by police, gendarme units, or customs units who are carrying out police duties,” the law states.
It says that the owner of the car can be compensated for wear and tear caused by use by law enforcement officers if they are not in the end convicted of the crime they were charged with.
But the law does not say anything about traffic offences by officers using confiscated vehicles.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/201...mans-car-then-take-it-for-a-spin-and-rack-up/
