The snatch thieves targeted the managers of Asian restaurants, persuaded to collect large sums of cash ... Three people were taken into custody this Wednesday morning in the premises of the territorial security of Paris for thefts with violence in because of belonging to an ethnic group.
Two of them were arrested this Wednesday morning at dawn, and the third was taken from her cell at Fleury-Mérogis prison (Essonne) in the morning.
The starting point of the investigations dates back to the assault, on February 10, of the Asian manager of a restaurant located in the 11th arrondissement.
That day, the victim is opening his establishment when two people snatch his handbag, before fleeing on a scooter.
Luckily, the two attackers had been filmed by a GoPro camera, which was filming a few moments before the incident.
These images enabled the territorial security police to identify these two people, already well known to the police.
A gang "specialized" in snatching
"They gravitate in the sphere of a gang of delinquents from the 11th arrondissement, specializing in snatching," said a source close to the investigation.
"This band had been partly dismantled during two operations, which had led to the arrest of nine people, four of whom were subsequently imprisoned," she adds.
Armed with these elements, the investigators make a connection with another flight, with a similar operating mode: the Asian manager of two restaurants had been relieved of the receipts of her establishments when she was returning home, in the 10th arrondissement of Paris.
His two attackers then evaporated, fleeing on a scooter.
By studying the video surveillance images of the city of Paris, the police had found the trace of the two-wheeler.
The registration of the vehicle had led investigators right to the two alleged assailants, one of whom is suspected of having participated in the assault in the XI.
Months of investigation that allowed the police to pick up the three suspects this Wednesday morning.