British drug kingpin jailed in France seeks to overturn sentence

Robert Dawes claims police used forged documents to secure conviction

(FILES) This file photograph taken on December 21, 2018, shows a court sketch of defendant Briton Robert Dawes (L) and co-accused Nathan Wheat (R) at a courthouse in Paris, on the last day of a two-week trial for drug trafficking. A Briton sentenced by a French court to a 22-year jail term for drug-trafficking is seeking to have his conviction overturned on the grounds police allegedly used forged documents, according to his complaint seen by AFP on April 7, 2021, Robert Dawes, 48, who had denied the charges, was arrested at his luxury villa on the Spanish Costa del Sol in 2015 following a lengthy investigation by the authorities in Britain, France, Spain and South America.
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 / AFP / Benoit PEYRUCQ
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A British man sentenced by a French court to 22 years in jail for drug trafficking accused police of using forged documents in the case and called for his conviction to be overturned, it was reported on Wednesday.

Robert Dawes, 48, who denied the charges, was arrested at his villa on Spain's Costa del Sol in 2015 after a lengthy investigation by the authorities in Europe and South America.

Spanish police secured a video that showed him bragging to a member of a Colombian drug cartel that he owned cocaine found stuffed in 30 suitcases registered to "ghost travellers".

The drugs were said to have a street value of €50 million ($59.4m).

Last Friday, Dawes filed the complaint accusing police of giving false evidence on the methods the anti-drugs task force used to seize the 1.3 tonnes of cocaine at Charles de Gaulle Airport, AFP reported.

Dawes's lawyers said parts of the initial police report on the seizure did not match evidence given by an officer.

France's highest court is due to examine Dawes's appeal on April 14.