This thief, we could nickname him the little mouse.
The reason ?
He mainly stole coins, those that allow you to have a coffee or start a washing machine.
Because it was precisely the laundromats that he targeted to rob them of their revenues with, in the end, quite substantial amounts.
He thus allegedly made off with 8,500 euros to the detriment of laundries in Vincennes, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, Champigny-sur-Marne, Nogent-sur-Marne and Fontenay-sous-Bois.
As he forced the coin mechanisms, he caused significant damage amounting to nearly 10,000 euros.
Val-de-Marne territorial security investigators were on his trail until they identified and located him.
Thursday, at 6:40 a.m., the police raided a hotel on the banks of the Marne in Nogent-sur-Marne where the suspected thief, aged around thirty, had left his bags.
The man was arrested without resistance and placed in police custody.
Washing stations sometimes also targeted
During the search, officials found part of the loot, almost 1,500 euros in scrap.
“There was a large batch of coins,” confides a source close to the investigation.
Tools, those used to force the machines, were also found.
The suspect was placed in police custody in the territorial security premises.
Coin theft from coin machines is not that common.
“It can be quantified, but it is not very interesting for thieves to carry a lot of pieces that weigh them and make noise,” notes a police source.
But there are still some precedents.
In Essonne, in 2019, a serial currency thief who targeted car washing stations was sentenced to 5 months in prison.
This 29-year-old roofer had scoured the entire department to recover the money from the chips.