The two brothers were making 28,400 € per month with drug dealing
A suspicious transaction in Cul de Sac in October 2015 made the Saint-Martin gendarmes open an investigation which lasted ten months. "They did a great job," said the Deputy Prosecutor Michaël Ohayon.
Two brothers, DD and XD were quickly identified and suspected of dealing cocaine and cannabis on the French side of the island.
They both live in an apartment building owned by their mother in Cul de Sac, on the French side. Since she lives in Guadeloupe, she lets them use it. DD is 26 years old. He got married on September 25 with a young woman from Santo Domingo. Three months pregnant, she manages a mobile phone business and is still living in the Dominican Republic until she gets her papers to come in France. He has a vocational training certificate (BEP) in mechanics but (illegally) works in his uncle’s equestrian center on the Dutch side as a guide, which pays $800 a month.
His brother, XD is 23 years old. He has a girlfriend who has gone to France on the mainland for her studies. He has a certificate of professional competence (CAP) in cooking and pastry but has no declared employment.
Both share a rent of 900 euros which comes from the lease of property which belongs to their father.
“THEY WORK BUT ILLEGALLY”
“Both of them work. “They get up and go to work every morning like you and me. However, their jobs are illegal. They call a client, hop on their motorcycle and make a delivery in Grand Case, Marigot, or Orient Bay. Dealing drugs is their life”, explained the Deputy Prosecutor Michaël Ohayon. According to the evidence gathered by the gendarmes during the phone taps of the two protagonists which were performed over a two-month period (maximum duration allowed by the law), DD carried out 214 transactions and his brother 339. That makes a total of 300 clients. "The investigators estimated XD’s turnover at 36,500 euros a month for a monthly profit of 12,400 euros, and SD’s at 41,600 euros and a profit of 16,000 euros a month," said the Deputy Prosecutor. "They both had the salaries of business managers from the top professional categories", commented Michaël Ohayon. It’s believed that they were dealing about a kilo of narcotics per month.
During the searches, 114 grams of cannabis and 15.5 grams of cocaine were found at DD’s house and 1.485 kilos of cannabis and 1.140 kilos of cocaine were found in the home of XD. 4,000 euros et 2,450 dollars in cash were also found.
Several consumers were identified and questioned and they confirmed that the two brothers were their dealers.
In this traffic, XD and DD had accomplices. Four other individuals are reported to be involved. They have been arrested and placed in custody. "They will appear soon before the judge", said the Deputy Prosecutor. Among these four individuals, there’s XD’s girlfriend who was arrested on the mainland as well as a minor and his adult sister. The young man immediately appeared on the same day before a juvenile court in Guadeloupe. His job was mainly to deal in Orient Bay.
The two brothers were placed in custody at the beginning of the week. On Wednesday morning, they were presented before the Saint-Martin criminal court for a summary trial. However, since it is allowed by law, they have asked for a delay in order to prepare for their defense. Their trial has therefore been postponed until January 10, 2017, it will be held in Basse-Terre since both defendants were placed in temporary detention. Indeed, the court has issued a detention warrant against them. They will therefore be incarcerated in Guadeloupe starting tonight.
DD risks a ten-year prison sentence and XD a twenty-year sentence because he is a repeat offender. The two brothers have been sentenced several times for armed robbery, refusal to comply, death threats, the use and possession of narcotic drugs, among other things.
PRAISE OF A TERRORIST ACT
XD was also scheduled to appear on Thursday before the same court for drug possession dating back a few months ago. In January 2015, a few days after the attack on Charlie Hebdo, he was sentenced to four months in prison with a detention warrant at the end of a summary trial before the Saint-Martin Court for public praise of a terrorist act. He had called out to some gendarmes who were checking papers (which didn’t concern him) that the terrorists should come to Saint-Martin "in order to kill the gendarmes". The Chief Justice of the Court had pointed out to him that he was appearing for the fourth time in thirteen months. XD admitted it was true. He had pleaded guilty for these "mistakes", just like he fully admitted to the allegations that he’s facing today. In January 2015, he had also said that he would try to change and make a new start in his life.
