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New robbery of van foiled in Switzerland: three criminals indicted

2020-07-15T12:21:44.277Z


A new van robbery could be thwarted thanks to a Franco-Swiss police collaboration. Monitored for months, three thugs


New van attack foiled in Switzerland. A team of seasoned criminals from Lyon and Seine-Saint-Denis were kept in check at the beginning of July thanks to a coordinated action by the French judicial police and the brigade of repression of banditry in Geneva. Three criminals were indicted last week in Lyon (Rhône) for association of criminals and attempted robbery with a weapon.

The affair began last October, when the police learned that a Lyon criminal, Mourad B., 43, known for theft and forcible confinement, were interested in objectives in Switzerland. He prowls near watch factories and postal centers and does some scouting. The police put him under surveillance, convinced that he will soon take action. In November, the police understand that the robbers have set their sights on a strong center of a Geneva transport company. The arrival of the health crisis in March put an end to their project and to the police investigations. But last June, thieves' activity resumed.

A dozen hooded and armed strangers

On July 3, the thieves, who are a good ten, hooded and heavily armed, take action. Distributed on board a heavy truck, a utility van and several sedans, they target a van that carries around 30 million euros. They take him in spinning not without having stretched a trap on his way. But the operation turns into a fiasco because the driver of the van changes route. A signal for criminals who flee and fall back to France. Mourad and Mounir A, 44, were however arrested in Gex (Ain) by investigators from the central office for combating organized crime (OCLCO) and the Lyon research and intervention brigade near the vehicles which had come from across the border.

The police seized TNT breads, power cables, ammunition and handguns, body armor. If Mourad is a pure product of the Lyon suburbs, his friend is from Seine-Saint-Denis. He is known for his involvement in robberies, car theft, concealment and burglary. A few hours later Abderrazak B., 43, nicknamed the lucky one because he has not been in police custody for twenty-five years, is arrested in the Var where he has taken up residence.

During their hearings, the three men preferred to remain silent in the face of questions from the investigators about their projects and their accomplices. The investigations are continuing, carried out jointly by the magistrates of Geneva and Lyon.

This new affair takes place in a particularly tense context on the side of the confederation. In three years, several teams of Lyon criminals have attacked half a dozen vans. Thieves take advantage of the proximity of the border but also of the fact that Swiss vans are poorly protected and transport very large sums of money. To combat this scourge, the French and Swiss police are cooperating to identify and put these teams out of harm's way. Already in October, eight dangerous criminals had been arrested before crossing the border.

Source: leparis

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