Ten individuals suspected of belonging to a network specializing in metal theft were arrested on February 12 in Gerzat (Puy-de-Dôme),
Le Figaro
learned from a gendarmerie press release dated February 16.
In total, 61 incidents were recorded by the military for damage estimated at around one million euros.
Of the ten suspects, four of them are under OQTF.
Furthermore, of these ten people arrested, two were released after their custody
“with dismissal for insufficiently serious offenses
”;
five will be judged on March 18, specifies the public prosecutor of Clermont-Ferrand;
and three other suspects will be summoned to court on February 20, 2025.
Romanian and Serbian nationalities
The network begins its crimes during the summer of 2023. The gendarmes note that several aggravated thefts have been recorded in the departments of Puy-de-Dôme, Allier and Loire, to the detriment of companies or recycling centers.
Faced with these regular thefts, the Clermont-Ferrand judicial court decides to open an investigation and
“a working group is also set up within the Puy-de-Dôme Departmental Gendarmerie Group (GGD)
, specify the gendarmes in their press release.
The analysis of the telephones, the exploitation of video protection and the surveillance of the military allow them to highlight that these thefts are committed by
“a structured team of criminals, made up of several individuals”
, they detail.
The majority of individuals are adults, of Romanian or Serbian nationality and “
unfavorably known to the judicial documentation”
, continues the press release.
An organized network
The role of each criminal is very specific with a team leader, small hands, drivers and a person in charge of collecting the proceeds of the concealment by transferring money to Romania and Spain, explain the gendarmes.
On February 12, the GGD of Puy-de-Dôme then organized the legal operation “MÉTALO 63”.
The latter mobilized more than 80 gendarmes and finally allowed the arrest of ten individuals, as well as the seizure of three vehicles used during the thefts and luxury watches.