- For the past few weeks, pickpocketing of a somewhat special kind has resumed in Strasbourg city center.
- Police investigators set up surveillance and arrested two men in the act.
- Stolen watches, the values of which range between 2,000 and 35,000 euros, represent total damage estimated at around 120,000 euros according to the police.
Pickpocketing of a somewhat special kind had been resuming in Strasbourg for a few weeks. Similarities in the manner of operating but also in the genre of stolen objects, quickly led to the investigators of the Strasbourg police of the "Pickpocketing" cell thinking that it was the same individual.
The pickpocket identified its victims, generally elderly or vulnerable people, but also the value of the watch of their future victim. He often approached them near the parking meters and diverted their attention, often by handing them a two-euro coin and asking for change. He was very insistent and tactile. There, he stole their watch, without the slightest violence and without the victims suspecting anything.
After long investigations and viewing several hours of video recordings, the investigators quickly defined that the pickpocket was at times accompanied by an accomplice and raged within a very precise perimeter in the city center.
Caught in flagrante delicto
A monitoring operation has therefore been put in place. Bingo! On Tuesday, police arrested two individuals, in their thirties, who had just stolen an elderly person's cell phone. The two men perfectly matched the reports provided and the findings made by the investigators.
So the end of a juicy scam: since the first reports in June 2018, 16 watches, a bracelet, a wallet and a mobile phone have been stolen. Watches whose values range between 2,000 and 35,000 euros, represent damage estimated at nearly 120,000 euros according to the police.
The profile of criminals? Traveling criminals, one is very unfavorably known to the justice system for similar acts committed in Germany, Austria, Switzerland and
Romania. They were previously unknown in France to the police and justice services. While in police custody, the main suspect largely acknowledged the charges. The two men should be brought to trial immediately.
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- Investigation
- Police
- The elderly
- Strasbourg
- Aggression
- Flight
- Downtown
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