LThe flair and investment of the police paid off. This Monday, November 4, the main alleged instigator of a gang of car thieves was arrested at his home in Cenon with two accomplices, in Talence and Bordeaux. All were taken into custody for theft and receiving stolen goods in an organized group and should be referred to the public prosecutor's office in the coming hours.
The case emerged last April. An investigator from the Local Judicial Police Service (SLPJ) of the Central Division notes an increase in vehicle thefts which seem to lead to a suspect, aged 24, living in Cenon, whose criminal record is darkened with several mentions.
Very quickly, the SLPJ police officers will work in conjunction with the property crimes brigade of the Territorial Crime Division (DCT) and the support of the Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI), under the authority of the public prosecutor. Shadowing day and night, using sophisticated technical means, the investigators carried out painstaking work which allowed them to discover that the young Cenonnais sometimes acted alone but also with one or two accomplices. A 23-year-old from Talençais and a 27-year-old from Bordeaux.
Sold on a parallel market
This “drawer” team scoured Bordeaux and its surrounding area, notably the Caudéran sector as well as the Arcachon basin.
In total, the police solved 41 misdeeds, including 26 car thefts. The criminals allegedly committed six homejackings and stole vehicle keys during these burglaries.
The stolen cars are sedans, most often high-end, sold at very low prices on a parallel market to unscrupulous customers who paid in cash.
Cars were allegedly sold in the region’s organized crime scene”
Investigators discovered that cars were allegedly sold in the region's organized crime scene. They would have been used by drug traffickers during go fasts and to commit burglaries. This concealment network is currently being identified.
Money and jewelry
The head of the network acted according to a well-oiled operating procedure. He would spot cars parked in the street then take action alone or accompanied. He apparently had digital equipment to unlock the doors and turn on the ignition. He only drove a few kilometers and hid the stolen vehicle near the university hospital before recovering it to sell it.
On Monday, investigators from the DCT and the SLPJ, assisted by the Departmental Intervention Company and the Surveillance and Interpellation Brigade, carried out the operation at slag hour. They then searched the homes of the three suspects and seized 14,000 euros in cash, jewelry, luxury leather goods as well as tools of apparently dubious origin.
In police custody for almost 72 hours, the suspects were still there this Wednesday evening. They were not very talkative during their auditions.
