The gang had been raging for several months in Saint-Denis: after an investigation carried out on the spot, a crackdown made it possible to arrest eleven young people on Monday March 8 for multiple "
thefts from the door
", according to information that
Le Figaro
could get hold of.
About 70 facts are attributed to them.
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From January 2019 until August 2020, the police services had noted a considerable increase in thefts on avenue du Colonel-Fabien in Saint-Denis.
Following the complaints, investigators had identified a constant modus operandi, with assailants emerging from the bushes along the avenue, smashing a window of the targeted vehicle with a stone, and seizing the effects in the passenger compartment.
The reports of the perpetrators were also similar in the testimonies of the victims.
Several empty handbags were then spotted around the Augustin-Delaune stadium, a few meters from the avenue (see photo).
Some stolen credit cards have been used for fraudulent payments.
In total the damage would amount to 46,000 euros, not counting the possible trauma of the victims.
Avenue du Colonel-Fabien, diagonally at the bottom of the image, and the Stade Delaune at the top.
DR - Google Maps
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A arrested in a remand center
Investigators first identified and monitored five well-known national police thieves.
Exploiting video surveillance and geolocation of telephones, it is ultimately a larger team that has been identified.
The eleven young people, all aged 18 to 20, were not always together, sharing the flight times on the avenue.
Yesterday Monday morning, all the arrests were launched at the same time by the police station with the security and intervention company (CSI 93) and its Operational Support Group.
Ten interventions took place at the homes of the suspects, and one in a remand center.
The eleven defendants are more or less well known to the police: only one has no criminal record.