Paris Police Bust Major France-Morocco Stolen Goods Ring
The Paris police have managed to dismantle a large fencing network that has been selling stolen goods on the Moroccan market for several years.
Late October will mark the end of repeated thefts of objects and their resale in Morocco by a large fencing network, reports Le Parisien. It was the police officers of the "sensitive neighborhoods" group of the Paris territorial security (ST75) who achieved this feat.
They were faced with a solidly built chain network. Minors and young men steal the objects. The fence, in turn, sets an appointment every three days with his "superior": the centralizer, who collects the loot from several other Île-de-France fences, generally buys the objects for a third of their value. And, employees of several import-export companies making trips between France and Morocco are co-opted to fraudulently transport the goods.
The fence and his trusted accomplice, as well as the centralizer, all in their thirties, are Moroccans. They were arrested and placed in pre-trial detention. As for the "banker", a young adult with a student visa, he is under electronic surveillance.
Thefts have increased by 12% between 2018 and 2019 in Paris due to the activity of this large fencing network. "And yet, many victims are tourists who do not take the time to file a complaint," said a Parisian commissioner.
