Nineteen people were arrested at the end of September as part of an investigation into a transnational criminal network relating in particular to "
gang scams organized on vehicles
", announced Thursday October 14 the prosecutor of the Republic of Lille, Carole Etienne , in a press release.
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Four people were remanded in custody and 13 under judicial supervision. More than 90,000 euros were also seized, it is specified. These people are suspected of belonging to a network made up in particular of Armenians and Georgians, split into two branches: "
one deriving its profits from the regular trafficking of cigarettes between France and Belgium
", the other "
engaging in to a hidden trade in the purchase and resale of vehicles
”.
Eighteen arrests had already taken place in December 2020 in France and Belgium in "
the section relating to tobacco trafficking
", which would have brought them 2.3 million euros, according to the prosecutor.
The 19 new arrests, "
as part of the dismantling of the branch related to scams on vehicles
", were carried out on September 15 and 28.
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The people arrested are said to have engaged in “
an occult trade in the purchase and resale of vehicles, part of which was the object of scams at the meter, with the provision of cars to teams of thieves (...) at the 'origin of many crimes (shoplifting, burglaries, fuel theft ...) especially in Hauts-de-France,
”said Carole Etienne.
"
In the end, the dismantling of this transnational criminal structure, carried out in two phases (...) allowed the arrest of 37 people, of whom 12 were placed in pre-trial detention and 19 under judicial control
" by the specialized interregional court ( JIRS) from Lille.
