• Between December 2020 and September 2021, a criminal organization operating in Hauts-de-France was dismantled.

  • The defendants, mainly Armenians and Georgians, trafficked in cigarettes and vehicles.

  • About forty arrests took place between France and Belgium.

An investigation conducted by an investigating judge of the specialized interregional jurisdiction (Jirs) of Lille allowed the dismantling of a large criminal organization mainly composed of Armenian and Georgian nationals, we learned on Thursday from the Lille prosecutor's office. .

About thirty people involved are suspected in particular of trafficking in contraband cigarettes and scams linked to the resale of vehicles.

According to the Lille prosecutor's office, the network was organized into two branches with very different specialties.

The first derived its profits from tobacco trafficking between France and Belgium.

A particularly profitable activity since the survey made it possible to estimate the profits at more than two million euros.

Nearly 40 people arrested in two phases

For the other branch, it was vehicle traffic. Respondents bought and resold cars in a completely illegal manner. When the vehicles were resold, some had seen their meters tampered with to reduce the number of kilometers. On the other hand, certain vehicles were made available to Georgian criminal teams involved, in particular, in burglaries or theft of fuel in Hauts-de-France.

Under the direction of the Jirs, they are the gendarmes of the Somme, Oise, Aisne, but also men of the Central Office for the fight against itinerant delinquency (OCLDI) and the Interministerial Research Group ( GIR) who carried out the dismantling of the band in two stages.

The first series of arrests took place in December 2020, between France and Belgium, and targeted the tobacco industry.

A second operation took place on September 15 and 28 for the vehicle branch.

In total, 37 people were arrested, 12 of whom were placed in pre-trial detention and 19 under judicial supervision.

The numerous searches also enabled investigators to seize 213,678 euros.

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  • Justice

  • Automotive

  • Tobacco

  • Miscellaneous

  • Crime