Taxi ride to Sweden lands drivers in court

A pair of Parisian taxi drivers may pay a heavy price — jail — for driving a group of illegal Afghan immigrants from France to Sweden, according to court documents made available Tuesday.

Frenchman Bruno Dacher, 32, and Portuguese native Fredrico Silva da Conceicao, 48, have been charged with human trafficking and “risk between six months to six years in prison” said prosecutor Jorgen Larsson in the southwestern city of Malmo, where the two men will be tried.

Customs authorities arrested the pair on December 29, after they had crossed the bridge linking Copenhagen and Malmo with eight young Afghan clients. The drivers had charged their passengers 2,500 euros ($3,375) for the 1,300-kilometre (808-mile) trip.

The pair denies any wrongdoing, Larsson said, adding, “they said it was a taxi run just like any other.”