Their gain is estimated, at this stage, at more than 153,000 euros: a Bosnian criminal group, which was rampant in several European countries, is suspected of having defrauded several hundred elderly people throughout France by stealing their bank cards.
The four members of this network, three women and a man aged 22 to 35, were imprisoned on Wednesday 1is March pending their trial in April, Agence France-Presse (AFP) learned from the gendarmerie on Thursday.
The investigation had started in Finistère, where a phenomenon of shoulder surfinga technique that consists of looking over the shoulder of his victim to observe him typing his bank card code, before stealing it and making purchases or withdrawals.
Victims aged 77 on average
The gendarmes of the Quimper research brigade and the Rennes branch of the central office for the fight against itinerant delinquency (OCLDI) then noted the recurring presence of four people on the video surveillance cameras of several shopping centers. It soon became apparent that the group was operating throughout France, and in January a national investigation cell was created. “In total, several hundred thefts, use of bank cards and attempted scams to the detriment of the elderly are recorded”, according to the police. The average age of the victims is 77 years old.
Reconciliations have enabled investigators to establish that this highly mobile criminal group was committing similar acts in Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Croatia and Germany. The four suspects, located thanks to cross-border surveillance, were finally arrested on Sunday in a hotel in Brive-la-Gaillarde (Corrèze) as they were preparing to return to Spain. A sum of 12,000 euros was found on them, their loot “last three days” according to the gendarmes, a sign of the high profitability of their activity.