End of game for the cargo thieves. Two criminals, aged 19 and 20, were arrested on Wednesday in Montfermeil (Seine-Saint-Denis) by investigators from the Versailles anti-banditry brigade. They are suspected of having stolen more than 200,000 euros worth of perfumes during the night of 2 April in Richeville (Eure).
The case began in early March when officials from the National Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI Nat) gathered information about a team driving around in stolen cars and specializing in warehouse burglaries. They placed three suspects under surveillance. The latter purchased equipment that could be used to set up operations, including disposable telephones and plastic ties to neutralize potential victims. Another recovered stolen cars and motorcycles. “It looked like preparations for a kidnapping, but the thieves were testing the patience of the police because, in the end, they did nothing,” explained a source close to the case.
Stolen items found during search
It was finally on the night of April 1st to 2nd that the bandits decided to take action. The thieves went to the parking lot of a restaurant in Richeville and robbed the trailer of a truck. These three men seized a shipment of perfumes and cosmetic products “Brume Sol de Janeiro”, an American brand now owned by the “L’Occitane” group. The Versailles investigators followed their trail, identified their vehicle and used the video surveillance images.
On Wednesday at dawn, they arrested two suspects at their home. The search uncovered several bottles of stolen perfume. The duo was taken into custody at the PJ premises for “organized theft and criminal conspiracy”. These two men are unfavorably known to the police for sexual assault, aggravated theft and drug trafficking. During their first interviews, they confessed. “One of them had filmed the theft and kept the video on his phone,” added a source close to the case. A third suspect surrendered Thursday morning.
