The theft was “very organized”, in the words of the public prosecutor of Le Mans (Sarthe).
An investigation was opened after the theft of tobacco cargo from two trucks on the A11 motorway, which links Paris to Nantes, the prosecution announced on Friday.
During the night from Wednesday to Thursday, around 2 a.m., "two heavy goods vehicles carrying boxes of cigarettes" were the target of "a violent theft on the A11 motorway near Le Mans", specified in a communicated the public prosecutor, Delphine Dewailly.
Drivers unhurt
“The perpetrators, aboard several vehicles, forced the drivers to park before seizing the cargo and fleeing in unidentified vehicles,” she detailed.
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The magistrate did not specify the exact location of the theft, in particular whether it took place on the highway itself or whether it occurred while the heavy goods vehicles were driving at a rest area.
The drivers are “unharmed” and the damage “would amount to several hundred thousand euros”, she said.
An investigation into organized gang violence
“An investigation is opened into counts of theft with violence by an organized gang and criminal association with a view to preparing a crime”, and the perpetrators face “a criminal sentence of 20 years”, added Delphine Dewailly.
The cargo from the two trucks was intended for “ tobacco
dealers
in the Great West,” she said.