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French-Based Violinist Receives Prison Sentence in Cocaine Case
A Nice court imposed three years of immediate imprisonment after customs officers discovered more than 38 kilograms of cocaine in the musician's vehicle.
Professional violinist Beng Bakalli has been sentenced to four years in prison, one suspended, following a drug case heard at Nice's criminal court on 9 October, Radio Classique reports.
The sentence amounts to three years of immediate imprisonment. The court also imposed a €1.1 million customs fine. Prosecutors had requested a six-year prison term.
Customs officers stopped Bakalli's vehicle at the La Turbie toll station on the A8 motorway on 10 August and discovered 38.33 kilograms of cocaine concealed beneath its floor covering. A subsequent search of his home uncovered cash and firearms, according to the report.
Bakalli had worked intermittently with the Orchestre Victor Hugo Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The orchestra stressed that his arrest occurred outside his work with the ensemble. Besançon officials likewise characterised the matter as an individual's actions, rather than an affair involving the orchestra.