Quebec senior sentenced to 12 years for heroin smuggling
Quebec heroin smuggling case: a 72-year-old man gets 12 years in prison See how the court weighed deception claims and rejected a community sentence
A 72yearold Quebec man has been sentenced to 12 years in prison after being convicted of smuggling 7.2 kilograms of heroin into Canada. The case was heard in Quebec court, where the judge said the offence involved a serious drug trafficking operation and rejected a request for a community sentence.
Court records say Maurice Nadeau traveled to South Africa in 2022 after being told he had won an allexpensespaid trip and a large cash prize. Prosecutors said he returned to Montreal with a suitcase that had a false bottom and contained heroin hidden inside.
Nadeau said he believed he was carrying gifts and claimed he had been deceived by a criminal group. His lawyer said he plans to appeal the sentence and continue arguing that Nadeau was misled.