Expensive high-tech medical equipment that is easy to hide and sell.
It was enough to attract covetousness.
About fifteen endoscopes were stolen in the last days of July, reveals AFP, within the private clinic of Mousseau in Évry-Courcouronnes (Essonne).
Information confirmed to us by the Evry prosecutor's office.
“The facts would have occurred on July 30, specifies the public ministry.
According to a first estimate which remains to be validated, the damage could amount to 500,000 euros.
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This sophisticated medical optical instrument makes it possible to visualize the interior of an organ, a natural duct or a cavity of the human body.
It is regularly used for hepato-gastroenterology explorations.
The investigation for theft in a meeting was entrusted to the departmental security of Essonne.
“The individuals have not yet been identified,” adds the prosecution.
Contacted, the Ramsay Générale de Santé group, to which the establishment is attached, did not wish to speak.
"The investigation is underway with the police, the establishment cannot therefore comment", it is explained before adding that "the activity of the clinic is maintained and the reception of patients assured ".
Between 30,000 euros and 100,000 euros per device
Hospitals are often the target of thefts of advanced medical equipment.
“Endoscopes represent biomedical equipment for which the risk of theft must be taken into consideration,” confirms a hospital center in Essonne.
And for good reason, the unit value of an endoscope is high, around 30,000 euros for a classic device and up to 100,000 euros for a specific device.
It is easily transportable in a bag or suitcase, and it is designed to be mobile, it can be moved within the establishment without attracting particular attention.
Finally, it sells very easily abroad.
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In 2016, an Ecuadorian national and three Colombian nationals were imprisoned as part of a similar investigation.
The four suspects had stolen several endoscopes from an operating room at the Cochin hospital, located in the 14th arrondissement in Paris, but also from the Tenon (20th) and Ambroise-Paré hospitals in Boulogne-Billancourt (Hauts-de-Seine). ) and the Villeneuve-Saint-Georges intermunicipal hospital center (Val-de-Marne).
The damage suffered by these establishments was estimated at nearly 1.5 million euros.
As for the stolen instruments, they had been found at the customs services of Bogota in Colombia.