They were active in several departments. A network of car thieves specializing in electronic hacking was dismantled and five people were indicted by the Libourne (Gironde) public prosecutor's office, the gendarmerie announced on Tuesday.
The team is suspected of the theft of “around thirty vehicles”, using the technique of “mouse jacking”, an electronic hack consisting of “opening the vehicle using a rod, then encoding a new key starting, (…) using a box,” said the gendarmerie in a press release. The network, hierarchical between order giver, thief, receiver and data modification specialist, had “replaced, disguised and administratively regularized” some of the stolen vehicles, added the source.
Eleven suspects were arrested last week following an operation launched jointly by the gendarmes of Gironde, Dordogne, Aisne, Alpes-Maritimes and Seine-Saint-Denis. The majority of those arrested were known to the judicial authorities for theft, receiving stolen property, violence and drug offenses, according to the gendarmes. The five indictees were placed in pre-trial detention.
According to statistics from the Theft Observatory, produced by the specialized company Coyote Secure, theft by electronic hacking, which does not damage the vehicle or alter its value, represents nearly nine thefts out of 10 in France.
