International gang of car traffickers disrupted

JOINT PRESS RELEASE Eurojust – Europol

Nineteen individuals were arrested in the course of a cross-border joint action finalised yesterday, involving three European countries and supported by Eurojust and Europol.

The criminals, of Romanian and Italian nationality, are responsible for the theft of approximately 300 high-value vehicles in Italy, France, Spain and Belgium. The vehicles were sold on to customers in Germany and other European countries, leading to proceeds of more than € 4 million for the gang.

Since early 2012, police forces from Lucca and Viareggio in Italy, Frankfurt a.M. in Germany, and Timisoara in Romania, have been investigating the case and cooperated in the successful outcome of today’s joint action.

This long-running operation, code-named “Mango”, was coordinated by Eurojust and Europol working in cooperation with Italian, German and Romanian judicial and law enforcement authorities. Several operational and coordination meetings were held at Europol and Eurojust that served to enhance the close cooperation of the Italian, German and Romanian authorities. The fast exchange of information between the involved countries ensured a reconstruction of the modus operandi and the organisation of the criminal network.

During the operation, a coordination centre was set up at Eurojust with the support of a Europol officer, under the direction of the Italian Desk.

Following the operation, Mr Francesco Lo Voi, Eurojust National Member for Italy, commented: “In this case, Eurojust and Europol worked hand in hand for several months, offering to investigators and judicial authorities of the involved Member States their operational and financial support and analytical expertise. This very successful case is a good example of the complementarity of both agencies in the fight against organised crime networks.”

For more information, please contact:

EUROJUST
Mr Joannes Thuy, Spokesperson – Head of Press & PR Service
Tel: +31 70 412 5508 – E-mail: jthuy@eurojust.europa.eu

EUROPOL
Ms Lisanne Kosters,  Media, PR & Spokesperson
Corporate Communications
+31 70 302 5001