The Versailles BRI police officers arrested four men who had held up a truck carrying cigarettes (illustration) -

PHILIPPE HUGUEN / AFP

  • Four men were arrested at the end of February in Val-de-Marne by the BRI of Versailles (Yvelines) after having robbed a truck carrying cigarettes.

  • The police had spotted the cars used by the criminals which had been stolen.

    By monitoring them, they identified the members of this team that they never let go.

  • Tried in immediate appearance, the four men received sentences ranging from 12 to 30 months in prison.

Difficult today to rob a bank or a jewelry store.

While these establishments have, in recent years, improved their security systems, thieves are now targeting trucks carrying goods such as bottles of perfume, champagne, or iPhones.

The team which was put out of harm's way by the police officers of the research and intervention brigade (BRI) of Versailles (Yvelines) and the judicial police service of Meaux, it, was in the theft of cigarettes .

"It is hyperrentable for them and it is a commodity that is not traceable", explains an investigator.

It all starts in early February.

BRI police officers spot stolen cars.

From experience, they suspect that they will be used for the commission of offenses.

“The BRI is a unit that works on its own initiative,” explains our source.

We are interested in the means of transport and they lead us to the facts.

This time again, the police got it right.

Discreetly, they will monitor these Renault Megan and identify a team made up of seasoned criminals: two men are known in particular to the BRB (brigade for the repression of banditry) and the BRI for attacks on jewelry.

Judged in immediate appearance

The thugs seem to be interested in a tobacco transport company.

Things accelerate on February 16.

That day, the police observed the four men recovering what they called in their jargon “war cars” and set off in a convoy.

They ignore it, but the police are after them.

As expected, the team spins a truck that delivers cigarettes to tobacco bars.

Suddenly, the driver stops and gets out to deliver his merchandise to Clichy-la-Garenne (Hauts-de-Seine).

It is the moment they choose to seize about thirty boxes of cigarettes which they load in the Renault trunks before taking flight.

The scene took place under the eyes of the police officers determined not to let go.

A little further on, the Megan come to a stop.

The team loads the stolen goods into other cars after dividing the loot between each member.

They thought they had succeeded.

But a few minutes later, the BRI police arrested them "without incident".

One part on the A4 motorway, in Val-de-Marne, the other in Villiers-sur-Marne.

The four men, aged 35 to 45, were tried for immediate appearance on February 23 for robbery with violence.

They received sentences ranging from 12 to 30 months in prison.

"Attacks by stagecoaches"

The relative leniency of justice is explained by the fact that these criminals had no firearms at the time of the facts.

"They understood that with, they could take three times more prison", blows a police source.

For drivers, who don't want to take any risks, that doesn't change much.

“They see four very determined guys, equipped with batons or tear gas canisters… They are not going to intervene.

What this investigator qualifies as "stagecoach attacks" is not about to end.

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  • Miscellaneous

  • Flight

  • Robbery

  • Police

  • Investigation

  • Cigarette