A policeman (illustration).

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FRANCOIS GREUEZ / SIPA

Investigators have made a nice haul in a "major criminal organization" suspected of committing thefts of diamonds estimated at several million euros.

Seven people have been indicted for criminal association with a view to committing a crime and swindle in an organized gang, announced Wednesday evening the prosecutor's office of the Specialized Interregional Jurisdiction (Jirs) of Nancy.

The suspects in custody

The seven individuals, Romanians and Serbs, all adults, were taken into custody.

The Besançon public prosecutor's office began investigations in June, at the request of the Spanish authorities.

They had reported the theft of a diamond worth 12 million euros, using the “rip deal” technique.

This one, which means “rotten transaction”, is a scam committed during a cash transaction involving large sums of money, for real estate, precious jewelery or large quantities of goods.

At the time of the transaction, criminals, for example, exchange real banknotes for fakes, or precious goods with a copy or empty packaging.

The investigators then made a reconciliation with similar facts committed in Zurich, concerning a transaction of luxury vehicles, and in Cannes in August 2020, relating to the sale of a diamond of 4.5 million euros.

The authors had succeeded in particular in stealing the diamond "by very skillfully reversing a box containing the diamond, with an empty box given to the seller without his noticing it".

The investigations mobilized the branches of the judicial police in Besançon and Nice, as well as the Central Office for the Repression of Major Financial Crime (OCRGDF).

A "very active criminal network"

The investigators identified a "very active criminal network, located in the Paris region and in the Bisontine region", made up of "Romanian and Serbian families appearing to be experienced in this type of crime".

They noted "several attempts" to resell the stolen diamonds in Spain and Cannes, and in several European countries.

In total, “a dozen individuals” have been arrested in Bondy (Seine-Saint-Denis), Perreux-sur-Marne (Val-de-Marne) and Besançon (Doubs) since early November.

Counterfeit banknotes, reproductions of notarial deeds and 10,000 euros were also seized.

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  • Lorraine

  • Diamond

  • Nancy

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  • Criminality