In Ile-de-France, the theft of tools on construction sites plague companies

They presented themselves almost as "exporters" and had found an infallible method of obtaining tools at an unbeatable price: theft.

Six men of Romanian origin, aged 26 to 37, were indicted last week in Versailles (Yvelines) for aggravated theft, before being imprisoned.

They are suspected of having, since the beginning of October, looted garden sheds but also construction sites in the Yvelines, in Villennes-sur-Seine, Guitrancourt, Morainvilliers, Flacourt, Septeuil, Mantes-la-Jolie, Arnouville-les-Mantes, Boissy-sans-Avoir and Carrières-sous-Poissy, getting their hands on many tools.

Receiving channels in Eastern Europe

The six thieves, who were working as a team, were arrested on the night of November 17 to 18 in Issou aboard a minivan, by the gendarmes of the Mantes-la-Jolie search brigade.

They came from a site managed by the Colas company in Villennes-sur-Seine, where they had seized gasoline cans.

"The damage which has not yet been established amounts to several tens of thousands of euros because the tools and small devices which have been stolen are very expensive", specifies a source familiar with the matter.

This arrest is symptomatic of a scourge affecting the department, but also the whole of Ile-de-France.

Specialized international networks, but also locally established, scour the region's construction sites to steal metals, electrical panels, small tools and construction machinery.

And very often, the channels of concealment lead investigators to the countries of Eastern Europe.

"We have calculated that the damage for these thefts corresponds to one percent of the turnover of the building", deplores Alexandre Rouffigniac, deputy general delegate of the Building Federation (FDB) for Ile-de-France.

"In the Paris region, the annual turnover of companies in the sector is estimated at 39 billion euros, which represents an annual loss of 400 million euros, he estimates.

And all of our businesses are affected, large and small.

"

To fight against the phenomenon, the FDB approached the police and the gendarmerie to put in place prevention and surveillance measures and help professionals to be careful.

"We recommend simple protection measures," continues Alexandre Rouffigniac.

Put tools and equipment in a safe place at night, ensure that the fences are properly placed so as not to facilitate intrusions, whether they are screened or transparent so that thieves can be spotted ... ”The installation of cameras, lighting and the implantation of GPS chips to find stolen material, is also recommended by the FDB.

An increase in thefts since the containment

The team of criminals arrested in the Yvelines was thus in the crosshairs of the gendarmes for several weeks.

She had specialized in nocturnal raids, slipping into unsupervised yards and gardens and grabbing anything of value.

The six men stole, for example, chainsaws, jigsaws, jackhammers, gasoline and diesel.

The search carried out in a camp in Verneuil-sur-Seine did not yield anything and if, during the hearings carried out by the investigators, the first five suspects preferred to remain silent or to minimize their involvement in this series of thefts, the elder of the band was more verbose.

He explained that he had acted under the group's coercion and that the stolen tools were exported to Romania.

In this regard, the investigation is continuing to better understand how this network is organized.

These crimes have been the subject of great attention on the part of the Building Federation for about ten years, as part of a process that professionals have ironically dubbed "ras le vol".

"And with the re-containment, insofar as the activity continues, companies feel an increase in the number of thefts," notes Alexandre Rouffigniac.

And it really poisons their existence.

"

Threats and racketeering in sensitive cities

The building federation also deplores an increase in physical threats to its members when they operate in sensitive neighborhoods in the Paris region.

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Alexandre Rouffigniac evokes two issues.

On the one hand, threats and violence perpetrated by local gangs.

These have control over the buildings of the sensitive cities where their various traffics thrive and they see the arrival of workers as intruders likely to disturb their business.

On the other hand, mafia racketeering, operated on construction sites by neighborhood gangs.

“They ask to be hired to ensure security when they are not qualified.

The threat brandished by the criminals is to burn machines and equipment in the event of refusal by professionals, ”said the representative of the FDB.

This summer, the work of the Val-Fourré college of the future in Mantes-la-Jolie (Yvelines) was the subject of several acts of this kind.

On two occasions, thugs had set fire to an excavator and modular buildings causing damage of nearly 100,000 euros.

The contractors had told the police that this story fits after they were approached by a gang in the neighborhood who wanted to fine them against a guarantee to be able to work in peace.

The police station opened an investigation to try to identify these criminals.