They had been raging since February in wealthy neighborhoods of Ile-de-France.
On Monday, two minors and an 18-year-old were arrested by the Criminal Investigation Brigade (BRB) of the judicial police, following a series of burglaries committed in various Ile-de-France municipalities.
The information, revealed by our colleagues from RTL, was confirmed to
Le Figaro
by a source familiar with the matter.
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On Monday afternoon, the trio of burglars was shadowed by a BRB team while they were scouting apartment buildings in Courbevoie and Puteaux (Hauts-de-Seine).
The latter robbed an apartment, then were arrested in flagrante delicto at 3:15 p.m., aboard a VTC taxi on the Puteaux bridge.
One of them is carrying a black backpack full of stolen items.
Among the suspects, one is a minor and had already been arrested two weeks earlier for a burglary, reports RTL.
The teenager had finally been released, but the officials had decided to maintain surveillance, in case the latter would be tempted to take action again.
Which was quickly the case.
Crowbar-open doors
The study of the telephony and the investigations carried out on other burglaries made it possible to impute to them no less than 26 burglaries across Ile-de-France, between February 1 and August 8.
Each time, the thugs followed the same modus operandi.
At first, they took public transport to go to one of the neighboring towns of the capital, reputed to be well off: Versailles, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Puteaux, Boulogne-Billancourt, Levallois-Perret, Saint -Cloud...
Once there, they entered the residences using a temporary Pass Vigik, these electronic badges which allow them to open most of the entrance doors equipped with this control system.
In the building, they did not hesitate to open the lock using "
screwdrivers and sometimes a crowbar
"says RTL.
Inside the apartment, one of the three was in charge of quickly recovering all valuables: jewelry, luxury leather goods, electronic equipment or even cash.
Each also had a very specific mission: one watched at the bottom of the residence, the second took care of the lock while the last was responsible for stealing the objects.
Finally, the trio left in a VTC taxi, so as not to arouse suspicion in public transport.
According to our information, the total amount of their loot is estimated at 200,000 euros.
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Placed in police custody, the three defendants, aged 15 to 18, admitted all the facts, according to our information.
The major must soon be summoned before the Paris Criminal Court, while the other two will be sent to a juvenile court.
The 18-year-old defendant faces up to ten years in prison and a fine of 150,000 euros.