New court trauma for cleared trucker

Jan 6 2009 by Jon Tunney, The Journal

AN innocent trucker accused of drugs charges is facing more court action – more than four years after he was released.

John Vasey was freed from a French jail in 2004 after 14 months of hell sparked when he was accused of drug smuggling.

The 48-year-old lost his home, business and marriage as family and friends campaigned for his release, but has since rebuilt his life.

Now he has been summoned back to a French court following new investigations in the country.

Since being released, Mr Vasey has found a new driving job and met girlfriend Suzie Eldin, 29. His 14-year-old son David has also moved back in with him.

But his rebuilt life came crashing down around him when he was issued with court papers which could see him facing another five to 10 years behind bars.

Mr Vasey, who lives in Rickleton Village, Washington, has spent the past three months doing his own investigations to try to clear his name for good.

He flew to Barcelona before Christmas to take photos of the warehouse where he was accused of collecting £2.5m of cannabis in sealed containers before smuggling it into France. His French lawyer flew over to the UK at the weekend and told him the case would go ahead – with or without him.

Mr Vasey was freed on bail in 2004 and returned to Washington for an emotional reunion with his family, especially parents Ken and Mary, who led the campaign to free him.

But French courts insisted there should be more investigations into his case both in the UK and in Spain and it was not formally closed.

Mr Vasey said: “We thought it was all over. But there has not been any actual closure, so it has been hanging over me a little bit. The judge ordered more investigation, but as far as we can see, this hasn’t been done thoroughly.”

Newcastle lawyer Clive McKeag will accompany Mr Vasey to France after supporting his campaign for freedom since the outset.

Mr McKeag initially feared that despite Mr Vasey’s claims of innocence, he would still be found guilty of drug-smuggling because of European law.

At the time, Mr McKeag said: “He was told he was picking up a consignment of ceramics. The consignment was on shrink-wrapped pallets tied with special tape put on by machine.

“He wouldn’t have been able to check to see what was in it because if he tampered with it by opening it, the consignment would not have been accepted at its destination.

“Because of a recent European law, the driver has sole responsibility for the contents of the consignment.”