By Giovanni Legorano
ROME (AA) – French national police arrested 13 people suspected of being part of a criminal network smuggling luxury cars from Europe to West Africa, Europol said Wednesday.
The arrests are the result of an international investigation launched in 2021, which identified “a large, mobile and flexible criminal structure, which consisted mainly of French, Gambian and Senegalese nationals,” according to Europol.
Authorities said the criminal network relied on groups of car thieves located across France to obtain recent car models.
The criminal network is also suspected of having recruited minors to drive the valuable stolen cars to various European ports.
From there, the cars were hidden in cargo containers and shipped to West Africa.
Authorities identified more than 170 vehicles transported from Belgian, Dutch, French, German, and Spanish ports, Europol said.
The arrests were carried out by more than 110 French police officers, who also searched various houses and seized tools and materials used for car theft, vehicle documents and cash.
“Real-time analysis of several seized mobile phones led to the identification of two containers carrying nine stolen cars, which were immediately intercepted at the ports of Le Havre, France, and Las Palmas, Spain,” Europol said.
The investigation involved law enforcement authorities from France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Sweden. It was supported by Europol and Interpol.