The fear of food shortage and the legitimate psychosis around the coronavirus whet the appetite of criminals. Since the end of 2019, the gendarmes of the research sections of Reims (Marne) and Amiens (Somme) have been very interested in a group of criminals from the traveler community and specialized in night raids. Burglaries, theft of freight, of vehicles, burglaries of individuals or traders, everything was good for these men aged around thirty…
Hoping to take advantage of the coronavirus crisis to boost their income, these seasoned criminals have, in recent weeks, decided to renew their targets forcing the gendarmes to take action despite reduced staff and investigations put to sleep. "From the moment they began to attack objectives essential to the life of society during this epidemic, it was decided to put them out of harm's way," explains a source close to the file. Of course, some investigations are slowed down because of confinement, but when teams attack essential goods, we have the capacity to neutralize them. "
"They wanted to take advantage of the risk of shortage"
Following the beginning of confinement, thieves have multiplied, in the Aisne and the north of the Marne, thefts from trucks loaded with food - cutting up the tarpaulins of parked vehicles - or attempting to burglarize supermarkets. "It is a team that does everything," said a close associate of the investigation. They are not very selective but wanted to take advantage of the risk of shortage to get their hands on foodstuffs that could increase in value. Above all, the suspects targeted two medical offices in order to get hold of the hydroalcoholic gel and resell it on the black market, where prices have soared.
Thursday morning, after a night punctuated by several robberies, the police decided to take action. Helped by elite gendarmes from the GIGN antenna in Reims, investigators from the Reims and Amiens SRs arrested three men already known to the justice system in the Reims agglomeration for similar acts. Two are suspected of having committed the night raids and the third is considered to be the receiver of the group. The three men are brought before the prosecution of Soissons this Friday and should be tried immediately.
