French authorities, supported by Europol and Eurojust, have dismantled an international criminal network composed of 28 Romanian nationals suspected of having stolen goods worth over EUR 4 million from delivery trucks. In the early hours of 4 April 2017, six members of the group were arrested while operating in France. On 5 April 2017, following two requests for international letters rogatory issued by the French authorities, the Romanian Police executed 46 house searches and 14 arrest warrants across eight counties in Romania. Europol provided on-the-spot support to the Romanian authorities by deploying a property crime specialist equipped with a mobile office. Representatives of the French Gendarmerie and a French magistrate also participated in the action. During the searches, police officers found and seized bottles of perfume, electronic devices and documents. Warehouses were also searched in the Netherlands. In October 2015, the French Gendarmerie initiated an investigation into a mobile organised crime group that was stealing various goods (in particular cosmetics) from delivery trucks parked in rest areas along several French highways. It is believed that up until now, the crime group has committed the same type of crime in Belgium, Germany, Italy, Netherlands, and Poland. Europol supported this investigation from the early stages, mainly by organising operational meetings with the investigators from the affected countries. Information exchange between the Member States on this complex case was facilitated by Europol’s secure communication channels. Also, the information collected was analysed by Europol property crime specialists and several analytical reports – linking the cases together – were provided to the field investigators.
c.s. – Europol
