This is damage estimated at several hundred thousand euros. Tuesday November 5, 2024, five men of foreign nationalities (Bulgarian, German, Romanian) were convicted by the Mont-de-Marsan judicial court for aggravated theft with criminal conspiracy. The sentences handed down range from four to seven years of imprisonment.
Over a period of approximately one year, they stole several hundred kilometers of copper cables, notably from photovoltaic solar power plants located in Gironde and Landes, to the detriment of several companies such as Engie Green, Bouygues Energies et Services and even Sarl Solar Salaunes.
“I want to work”
These different facts were the subject of a comparison, particularly with regard to the operating method used by the criminals. They forced the passages and cut the fences to enter the sites. DNA samples, cameras and telephone exploitation also made it possible to identify the criminals. Investigators were able to identify the distribution network for the copper which was resold in Belgium.
At the hearing, only two men, placed in pre-trial detention at the Pau remand center since May 2023, were present. The three other convicts are under arrest warrant. “How do you see the future? », says the president to the two men. “I miss my family, I miss my little girl. I want to work,” replies the first, aged 26. “I am very moved. I have made mistakes but I am already of a certain age. I try to have a normal life,” confides the second, aged 41.
In this case, the Public Prosecutor's Office requested four years of imprisonment for the youngest and seven years for his eldest. The Public Prosecutor's Office also requested prison sentences ranging from three to seven years for the three people under arrest warrant.
“Seven years is huge”
“Seven years is huge. Of course, society must have a criminal response to the offenses committed. Seven years, I'm afraid he will experience this as an injustice. That would be totally counterproductive. His approach to telling you “I regret”, I believe that it is fundamentally sincere,” pleaded the lawyer of the forty-year-old of Romanian nationality.
For this one, the court followed the requisitions of the Public Prosecutor's Office. He was the most heavily sanctioned, with seven years of imprisonment handed down against him and a permanent ban from French territory.
Concerning all the victim companies, the court refers to the hearing on civil interests on March 10, 2025, at 2 p.m.
