They would have led a series of "raids" in Spain, in Germany before setting their sights on France, and more specifically the Paris region and the surrounding departments.
With the particularity of being ultra-fast and mobile.
Five young suspected burglars, originally from South America and aged 16 to 27, were arrested on January 26 in the Nièvre, as they returned from a new heist, by the police of the banditry repression squad (BRB) of the Parisian PJ.
They were indicted Thursday for "aggravated theft" and "criminal association" by an investigating judge from Bobigny.
The four adults were imprisoned while the minor was placed under judicial supervision with foster care.
The first investigations made it possible to attribute to this network at least 13 burglaries between January 9, the date of their arrival in France from Spain, and their arrest.
Seven departments are affected: Hauts-de-Seine, Val-d'Oise, Seine-et-Marne, Eure, Eure-et-Loir, Loiret and Aube.
But the investigators are convinced that many other facts will appear during the investigation, so much this South American gang struck quickly and hard with rudimentary means.
Accommodation in Seine-Saint-Denis
Among the suspects, three have been identified as Chilean nationals, known to Spanish and German police for burglaries.
Two of them were the subject of a research sheet.
The other two said they were born in Havana (Cuba) and Mendoza (Argentina) without this being able to be confirmed at this stage.
These suspected itinerant burglars had taken up residence on their arrival in France in accommodation in Seine-Saint-Denis, where they benefited from the financial assistance of a South American network rooted in crime - men steal, women steal engage in prostitution.
From there, they left between four and five times a week in a Nissan to carry money to the chain.
"They drive within a radius of 200 km by tracking on the outward journey and, on the return, they break flags," explains a source close to the investigation.
They use basic tools, force open doors or smash windows.
Usually, they ransack the interior for gold, jewelry, and cash.
"
To minimize the risk of being confused, the suspects, described as "very suspicious", change departments regularly, travel without ID and only stay three or four weeks at most in one European country before cracking down on another. bordering.
But this well-oiled system came to an end when police officers from the BRB's aggravated theft group received information in mid-January on the actions of a group of South American burglars and their point of fall.
This triggered the opening of an investigation by the Bobigny prosecutor's office, with the collaboration of the Chilean authorities.
Found in the Nièvre as they took action
After several shadows, investigators manage to identify the registration of the Nissan used by the gang.
They then discovered that a model of this type was reported in numerous thefts committed in territories in the gendarmerie zone.
A second vehicle reported stolen in the Val-d'Oise and used by the suspects is identified.
By making the connections, the police found, on January 26, the suspected burglars in a convoy of cars on the A7, in the Nièvre, while they took action.
The latter are arrested on a motorway rest area.
In their vehicles a few petty thefts are discovered: sound bars, a sports bag ...
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In custody at the BRB in Paris, four of the five suspects totally deny the facts.
The fifth admits his participation in only two flights, in the Aube.
The damage could not be assessed yet at this stage, in the absence of a census of all the break-ins, but it would amount to several hundred thousand euros.
This new South American crime already has a name among the European police forces: "The lanza internacionale".