Theft of 975,000 euros, committed by four Romanians on a highway in France. How they hijacked a shipment of cosmetics
A coordinated operation between the Romanian and French authorities aimed at the destruction of an organized crime group formed by four Romanian citizens, suspected of having hijacked, in France, a shipment of cosmetic products worth approximately 975,000 euros. The searches took place in Cluj and Maramureș counties, based on a European Investigation Order issued by the French authorities.
The action was carried out on April 28, 2026 by police officers from the Criminal Investigation Department of the IGPR and DIICOT – Central Structure prosecutors, who implemented two home search warrants in Cluj and Maramureș counties, according to a release from the Romanian Police.
How the group worked
The investigation of the Judicial Court in Rodez established that the four Romanians would have formed an organized crime group with the aim of obtaining large sums of money from the hijacking of some cargo shipments and the fraudulent appropriation of the goods contained therein.
“Thus, on the evening of September 26, 2024, the driver of a road train, of a company registered in Romania, which would have transported cosmetic products of a well-known French company, would have parked in a rest station located on the A75 highway (France), during the following day noticing the disappearance of an important part of the load”, it is shown in the press release.
Later, the stolen goods, worth approximately 975,000 euros, would have been identified on the territory of Italy, while they would have been transhipped, by two of the members of the organized criminal group, between two means of transport, belonging to the same company in Romania.
In relation to the two, the French magistrates ordered the measure of house arrest.
Searches and European Arrest Warrants
Following searches in Romania, investigators seized data storage devices and other evidence.
“European arrest warrants issued in the name of two other members of the organized crime group were implemented, against one of them, the judge of rights and liberties of the Cluj Court of Appeal ordered the preventive arrest. Regarding the second member, the request was rejected, he being investigated, in another criminal case, on the territory of Romania”the statement also states.
Operation with international participation
The activities were attended by police officers from Cluj and Maramureș, a French investigating judge, three representatives of the French Gendarmerie and two liaison officers of the French Embassy in Bucharest.
