Milano, they attacked companies at night by blocking the roads, the Carabinieri executed a custody order against 12 individuals

On November 26, 2024, in the provinces of Milano, Monza-Brianza and Parma, the Carabinieri of the Provincial Command of Milano have implemented a precautionary custody order in prison issued by the investigating judge of the Court of Milano, at the request of the local Public Prosecutor's Office, against 12 individuals (3 Ukrainians, 8 Moldovans and 1 Italian) held responsible, to varying degrees, for the crimes of aggravated theft in competition, receiving stolen goods and money laundering.

The measure arises from the outcome of an investigative activity that began in the summer of 2022 and developed through complex technical interception activities by the Investigative Unit of Milano against an Eastern European group dedicated to committing high-value thefts against companies, mostly operating in the logistics sector.

The investigative activities have allowed us to document the operations of a criminal group composed of Moldovan, Ukrainian and Italian citizens, who, with a paramilitary organization, committed thefts against companies operating mainly in the logistics sector throughout the north-east, appropriating large quantities of electronic material of considerable value. (cell phones, tablets, notebooks), as well as precious metals and clothing items.

In particular, the criminal actions were carried out through a consolidated scheme, carried out through lightning-fast raids lasting an average of 10 minutes, always at night when the companies were closed or there were very few workers present. The suspects, after having blocked the access roads to the targeted site using numerous stolen cars shortly before the assault, sprinkled the streets with three/four-pointed nails to disable any police patrols that approached. They then used stolen vans to break down the access doors to the sites, which they entered en masse, without ever using weapons or violence against any people present. The stolen goods were transferred, a short distance from the target, onto clean vehicles and then temporarily stored in rooms available to some members of the group who had exclusive custody duties.

The investigations allowed to reconstruct the responsibilities of the suspects in relation to 4 assaults committed between December 2021 and October 2022 against companies located in the provinces of Milano, Treviso, Bergamo and Venice, from which numerous electronic items, precious metals and branded clothing were stolen, for a total value of approximately 250.000 euros.

During the house searches of the suspects, a stolen rifle and 11 cartridges of various calibers were found, in the possession of a Moldovan citizen, not the recipient of the measure, who was therefore arrested in the act of the crime of illegal possession of firearms and receiving stolen goods.

Furthermore, an oxy-acetylene torch, some balaclavas, modified car control units, duplicate keys and swords for opening cars, as well as a jammer were found and seized from the suspects, all material pertaining to the crimes under investigation.