More than a thousand grands crus were seized by the gendarmes -

Gendarmerie Nouvelle-Aquitaine

  • The investigation was opened in September 2019 by the Bordeaux prosecutor's office, after a series of break-ins in the warehouses of traders in the Gironde.

  • A first operation was carried out in December 2020 leading to 14 arrests.

  • This time, it was the merchandise concealment sector that was targeted, mainly among Asian traders and restaurateurs in the Paris region. 

The investigators had the nose ... A vast police operation was carried out a few days ago in the Paris region and in the Gironde, to dismantle a network of receivers in the context of trafficking in grands crus, we learned. this Monday.

Several grands crus were seized during the operation - Gendarmerie de Nouvelle-Aquitaine

On March 16, a hundred investigators from the gendarmerie arrested six suspects in the Paris region.

Around fifteen places were simultaneously searched throughout the day, including restaurants, shops and a property in the Libournais.

On this occasion, around 118,000 euros in cash and more than a thousand bottles, including a few grands crus (magnum Angélus, Petrus, Château Yquem, Romanée-Conti, Rothschild, Cheval blanc ...) whose total value is estimated at around 200,000 euros, were seized.

Investigation opened in September 2019

"These arrests are the culmination of a careful investigation carried out for several months," said the gendarmerie of New Aquitaine on Monday.

The investigations started in the fall of 2019, when several aggravated thefts of traders' warehouses had been committed in the Bordeaux metropolis, "generating damage of nearly 3 million euros.

The Bordeaux prosecutor's office then opened a judicial investigation in September 2019, and a first wave of 14 arrests occurred a little over a year later, in December 2020. At the end, seven individuals had been imprisoned and seven others put under review and placed under judicial supervision.

More than a thousand bottles were seized - Gendarmerie de Nouvelle-Aquitaine

“The additional investigations made it possible to identify an important channel of concealment of the stolen goods, made up of traders and restaurateurs from the Asian community of the Paris region, continues the gendarmerie of Nouvelle-Aquitaine.

The latter sold the stolen merchandise in Asian restaurants, from individuals or exported it.

Some of them have also invested in a wine property in Gironde.

"

180,000 unapproved masks discovered

At the end of this new operation, one individual was left free and the other five were presented to the examining magistrate.

Indicted on March 19, they were placed under judicial supervision with a ban on leaving the country and payment of a bond.

“Incidentally, 180,000 unlicensed anti-covid masks have also been discovered.

“Just to recall that since the start of this investigation, the Covid-19 crisis has also upset the habits of traffickers.

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