Peugeot SUVs are still popular in Africa. As a result, car thieves and traffickers continue to target cars from the lion brand, especially in Île-de-France. Seven men, aged 16 to 44, were indicted in early September in Créteil (Val-de-Marne). They are suspected of having, for two months, stolen in the Paris region, twelve Peugeot 2008 and 3008 which were then exported to West Africa via the port of Le Havre (Seine-Maritime). The amount of the damage would amount to approximately 300,000 euros.
It was last July that investigators learned that stolen cars were stored in the same area of Rosny-sous-Bois (Seine-Saint-Denis). These teams of criminals always proceed in the same way. They operate at night in Val-de-Marne, targeting the towns of Valenton, Fontenay-sous-Bois and Nogent-sur-Marne. The thieves were driving a Clio. A war vehicle as the police say, that is to say a stolen and disguised car that allows you to move around and take action without being identified. The thieves who know the targeted models perfectly fold the door and start these SUVs with an electronic device. The vehicles are then stored on the street for a while to ensure that they are not equipped with a GPS tracker.
The cars were made up in a farmhouse
The investigators discover several stolen cars which they equip with beacons in order to follow their progress. The video surveillance images make it possible to understand that the stolen cars are taken to a shady garage in Maison-Rouge (Seine-et-Marne) where they are disguised in a farmhouse. This 36-year-old Moroccan, known to the police, works with his family. The 2008 and 3008 are stolen on order. They are then loaded into containers which are sealed and taken to the port of Le Havre before being delivered to Dakar (Senegal) or Abidjan (Ivory Coast).
The members of this network were arrested on August 31 and July 1, in Pontault-Combault, Nangis and Fontenay-sous-Bois by investigators from the car group of the Paris banditry repression brigade. Officials got hold of a diagnostic device, blank starter keys and cash. Its seven men occupy different functions in the organization, thieves, make-up artist or chief of the traffic.
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