These are rare fragrances, sold for nearly 300 euros per bottle in high-end perfumeries around the world ... For this price, unusual for a perfume, the Laurent Mazzone brand promises "daring, sensuality, seduction" and a real " olfactory quest ”.
That of the two men arrested, according to our information, on Tuesday March 2 in the morning by the gendarmes of the research section (SR) of Paris, was less poetic and much more mercantile.
In the shops of the two suspects, based in Seine-Saint-Denis, investigators discovered an incredible luxury perfume showroom.
Nearly 600 stolen perfumes from Laurent Mazzone or Mancera (two brands as discreet as they are luxurious) were seized.
The value of the goods is estimated at over 150,000 euros.
In November 2019, following visits to the Vinted website, popular with second-hand clothing enthusiasts, the gendarmes took an interest in an astonishing seller.
Known for multiple crimes, this Parisian, born in 1987, clearly does not have the profile of the wholesaler who tries to get rid of a broken-down price of a legally obtained unsold stock.
However, it offers for sale many perfumes of the Laurent Mazzone brand, very vigilant about its online image.
An even more disturbing coincidence for the SR of Paris: a huge shipment of this fragrance was stolen a few months earlier, during a resounding burglary.
13,000 stolen vials
In June 2019, a warehouse located in the Eure region of France was visited by very well-informed criminals.
Hooded, equipped with powerful cars, five criminals break into the premises and steal 13,000 bottles of Laurent Mazzone ready to be sent to perfumeries in Asia or the Middle East.
The loot is estimated at 1.5 million euros.
An investigation is opened by the gendarmes of Rouen.
Thieves suspected for a time are arrested, but the evidence is lacking to confuse them in this case.
And the trace of perfumes stolen in the Eure has disappeared.
For the gendarmes, the Vinted hypothesis is therefore unexpected and needs to be explored.
By tracing the trail of Laurent Mazzone fragrances marketed by the seller of Montfermeil, investigators from the SR of Paris establish a formal link with the stock stolen a few weeks earlier in the Eure.
How did this man acquire these perfumes?
Does he work alone and exclusively on the Internet?
For weeks, his entourage and his relationships are closely studied.
And two men of 38 and 49 quickly disturb the gendarmes.
In store and on the Internet
Already known for concealing perfumes, they present themselves as tidy men, now simple traders.
Specialized in beauty products and perfumes, they resell imported products to individuals or companies.
A legal activity in part: in Montfermeil or Clichy-sous-Bois, their shops are well known to the inhabitants who find beauty products there at discounted prices, carefully arranged and presented as in a traditional perfume shop.
"A lot of sales were done in stores thanks to word of mouth," said a source close to the investigations.
They also sold many perfumes on Internet sales sites between individuals.
Nothing illegal so far.
But the two men also have an unfortunate tendency to supplement their stocks with stolen products.
The perfumes stolen in the Eure, and in another major theft in recent months, were discovered on display in their shops alongside the legal goods.
Luxury fragrances, sold in stores and on the Internet, were sold at half the price of the perfume stores where they are usually sold.
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While profit is difficult to establish at this stage, several hundred perfumes of dubious origin have reportedly been sold in recent months.
The two men will soon be tried by the Bobigny Criminal Court.
