Vicenza: Operation Emigratis dismantles construction equipment theft ring.

Thanks to a vast inter-provincial Judicial Police operation, a criminal organization specialized in the theft and receiving of stolen goods has been dismantled.
The investigation, launched in recent months by Traffic Police of Vicenza, culminated with the execution of precautionary measures against criminals who operated mainly in the Vicenza and Treviso areas, allowing the recovery of 14 excavators stolen, with an estimated value of hundreds of thousands of euros.

The investigation, conducted between Veneto and Puglia, ended with the complaint of twelve members of the criminal association. For seven restrictive measures were implemented against them; three were arrested red-handed and finally, in the first phase of the activity, it was performed a precautionary order.

There have been numerous home and local searches which led to the seizure of assets attributable to the illicit activity.

The association, composed mainly of Italian citizens originally from the Foggia area, was well-established in the Veneto region and operated with extreme caution and professionalism. Each operation was planned down to the smallest detail, to minimize risks and maximize the effectiveness of the action. Nothing was left to chance, neither when it came to identifying the construction site to be looted, nor when it came to planning the subsequent phases of transport, concealment and resale of the stolen vehicles.

The thefts were carried out very quickly: the bulldozers were stolen, cleared from any tracking systems, accompanied by counterfeit documentation and finally exported abroad.

The operation, coordinated by Judicial Police Team of the Veneto Region, involved several teams of PG from the Region and Puglia, who through a complex investigative activity reconstructed the operating methods of the criminal group and the roles of the members of the association.

The success of the activity represents a significant result not only for the economic value of the recovered goods, but also for the safeguarding the local productive fabric, operating in the construction industry. The companies in the sector had in fact been targeted by the criminal group, which struck at the heart of the production process, stealing highly valuable goods, which were then loaded and hidden inside semi-trailers and placed in areas considered protected, from where the related receiving phase began.