Investigation. Large network of diamond thieves dismantled

Seven individuals suspected of committing thefts of diamonds estimated at several million euros have been indicted for criminal conspiracy to commit a crime and swindle in an organized gang, announced Wednesday evening the prosecutor of the Jirs of Nancy .

The seven individuals, Romanians and Serbs, all adults, belonged to a “major criminal organization”, underlines the prosecution in a statement. They were taken into custody.

“Rotten transaction”

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.

The “rip deal”, or “rotten transaction”, is a scam committed during a cash transaction involving large sums of money, for real estate, precious jewelry 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.

Flights to Switzerland or Cannes

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

The suspects had notably managed to steal the diamond “by very skillfully inverting a box containing the diamond, with an empty box given to the seller without him noticing it”.

A judicial information of the heads of criminal associations with a view to the preparation of crimes and fraud in an organized group was then opened with the Specialized interregional jurisdiction (Jirs) of Nancy. 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).

“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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