MARIGOT/PARIS--Senator for Saint-Martin and Saint-Barthélemy, Annick Pétrus, has confessed she did attempt to carry cartons of undeclared cigarettes in her luggage after she was stopped by customs officers on arrival at Paris Roissy airport on May 4, and subsequently regretted her mistake in a communiqué.
The incident was reported by the national media website Mediapart on Wednesday, May 28. She had attempted to pass through customs with 110 cartons of cigarettes according to the website, doing a favour for an acquaintance. The Senator travels regularly to Paris from Saint-Martin as part of her job.
The value of the cigarette cartons amounted to 14, 250 euros and were confiscated by customs officers after she paid a fine of 5,000 euros on the spot.
In explanations to the media outlet, she said it was not unusual for her to travel with packages.
“Every time I travel, I have to carry boxes and packages. These are from people I know, and I trust them. I've been doing this for years between Guadeloupe, Saint Martin and Paris. On 95% of my trips, I have a parcel for someone. I have never had a problem, but this time I was checked by customs.”
As the news spread on Wednesday, she addressed the incident in a statement on her Facebook page.
“You may have seen a press article about me this morning. I want to be clear: I made a mistake. By agreeing to carry cigarettes for an acquaintance during a trip between Saint Martin and Paris, I lacked judgement. I should not have agreed to this kind of service, which is common in our territories.
“As soon as the customs inspection was carried out, I acknowledged my mistake, paid the fine out of my own pocket and learned the lessons from this incident. I remain fully committed to my responsibilities, both in serving the people of Saint Martin and within the Senate. I wanted to address you with the frankness and transparency that I owe you.”
