Eleven men, arrested between November and June, were indicted as part of the dismantling of a vast network of smartphone thefts in businesses in the great West, the Rennes prosecutor's office announced on Friday June 24.
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The burglaries attributable to this network between September 2020 and October 2021, of which smartphone reconditioning companies were victims, relate to "
a total of around 7,000 stolen smartphones, i.e. a loss of 2 million euros for the victim companies
" .
, said prosecutor Philippe Astruc in a press release.
The investigators also brought to light "
the concealment channel for these stolen telephones, most of which
" were "
reactivated in Great Britain, Italy and Romania
", indicated the magistrate, adding that five concealers "
from the same Afghan family
" sold "
the proceeds of thefts
".
Phones found and returned
The Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (Jirs) of Rennes had opened a judicial investigation in December 2020, in particular for organized gang thefts.
Three police operations were carried out in Romania, England and Italy, while in France, "
several arrests and simultaneous searches on different sites
" were carried out, according to Philippe Astruc.
"
The phones found on this occasion
" were "
returned to the victim companies
", he said.
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In total, ten men suspected of being the perpetrators of the burglaries or attempts, all of Romanian nationality and aged between 28 and 47, were indicted for thefts or attempted thefts in an organized gang and participation in a criminal association.
A man of Afghan nationality, aged 31, with no criminal record, was indicted for concealment in an organized gang, money laundering and participation in a criminal association.
All were remanded in custody.
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