Vercelli, “Oysters and Champagne” operation: 4 arrested for thefts against food companies

Vercelli, this morning, the State Police, following a prolonged and detailed investigation directed by the Public Prosecutor's Office at the Court of Vercelli, it executed four precautionary custody orders in prison against as many people held responsible for multiple aggravated thefts and several attempted thefts against warehouses of agri-food products throughout the Piedmontese territory.
Within the same investigative context, the person receiving part of the stolen goods was identified and reported in a state of freedom.
Since the end of October 2020, the men of the Flying Squad of the Vercelli Police Headquarters, following a huge theft of food products perpetrated against the "Partesa spa" company in Vercelli, in which liqueurs, bitters and whiskey worth a value of of approximately 25.000 euros, had begun a complex investigation aimed at identifying the perpetrators of this crime.
From the analysis of the video surveillance footage, it was ascertained that the perpetrators were four individuals who arrived in Vercelli aboard a van whose license plate was traced, discovering that it had been stolen a few days earlier in Turin.
The men of the Flying Squad also managed to trace the car used by the gang's so-called "stalker" and his identity, who was identified as a forty-four-year-old Romanian citizen resident in Turin, with no criminal record.
In the first days of December 2020, the four criminals, three of whom were not yet identified at the time, carried out a second large theft at the "Mavi Pesca srl" company in Vercelli, removing twelve pallets of fish goods with a commercial value of approximately 50.000 euros.
In the continuation of the investigation, by monitoring the gang's movements and attendance at the gang's "post", it was possible to trace the identity of the second man, a forty-eight year old Romanian citizen, also resident in Turin, with multiple criminal convictions for crimes against property. .
It was also found that, before the attacks, the thieves used to carry out careful inspections in order to verify the geography of the places and study all the details in detail.
It emerged that the four were true "professionals" who used dedicated phones only and exclusively at the time of the theft, communicating with each other via rings that acted as a signal.

Before one of these inspections, the operators managed to identify the third and fourth man, two Romanian citizens residing in Turin and with multiple criminal convictions for crimes against property, aged thirty-three and forty-two respectively.
In the first days of March 2021, the gang carried out a third large theft at the "Canal Bibite di Porello & C. snc" company in Priocca (CN), removing drinks and spirits with a commercial value of approximately 15.000 euros, stealing in the also on occasion a van owned by the company which was used to transport the goods.
The following day the four resold the drinks stolen the previous evening to a fence owner of a well-known bar in Turin.
The man was identified as a sixty-eight-year-old Sicilian who had been resident in Turin for years and was released in a state of freedom for the crime of receiving stolen goods.
Finally, it was found that in the investigation period between November 2020 and April 2021, there had been numerous theft attempts that the four had carried out against food warehouses throughout the Piedmontese territory.
The value of the goods stolen by the criminal group appears to amount to over 100.000 euros.
All the investigative activity was coordinated and followed by the Vercelli Public Prosecutor's Office.
After having collected the evidence of guilt by the Judicial Police, the GIP at the Court of Vercelli, at the request of the local Public Prosecutor's Office, issued four precautionary custody orders in prison.
At dawn this morning, three of the four members of the gang were reached in their homes in Turin by agents of the Third Section of the Flying Squad of the Vercelli Police Headquarters who, in collaboration with those of the Turin Flying Squad and the Piedmont Crime Prevention Department, the precautionary custody orders in prison were executed and the fence was reported free.
During the searches carried out, a large amount of stolen liquor and alcoholic beverages with a commercial value of approximately 30.000 euros was recovered.
A very intense investigation is underway to trace the fourth recipient of the precautionary custody order.
Further investigations have been launched to verify whether the criminals were responsible for other criminal episodes in addition to those described.