The details of the arrest have been made public by the Bucharest Police, while media reports in the country have also stated that the thieves are an example of a gang that routinely target lorries abroad for most of the year.
Police confirmed that the theft was an inside job coordinated with the driver of the truck, who had agreed to park by the pump at a petrol station and allow the gang members to nonchalantly pick and choose whatever they wanted.
The driver intended to make it look like the seals had been broken during a so-called rolling heist in order that his employer would be able to claim for insurance.
However, despite the trucker parking his truck in such a way that its trailer was out of view of the CCTV cameras, everyone was caught red-handed by the police.
It turned out that boss of the company responsible for the transport was tracking the lorry, and thought the stop at the petrol station was suspicious. The manager then called the police, who quickly tracked down the truck and the thieves and saw the suspicions were correct.
The total value of the goods stolen amounted to over €10,000.
The police also learned that 3 of the men who arrested were also involved in at least 2 similar robberies that occurred in early August and late July.
“There are specialized networks that also operate outside of Romania, but especially during the summer period, from June to September, they also operate in Romania. Basically, they come to take their vacation. A kind of profitable vacation, or an active vacation, so to speak. One in which they still pinch some money. These stolen clothes are to be sold and they are also sold through underground networks. They are not sold through stores. There are people who deal with this,” Romanian haulage representative Augustin Hagiu told observatornews.ro.
Photo: Mihnea Lazăr, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
