Eleven men charged with robbery conspiracy
Eleven men have been charged with conspiracy to rob moving goods lorries on the motorway network following the first reports of this new crime trend in the UK.
The charges follow the arrest of the men in the early hours of Tuesday morning, a Citroen Relay was travelling on the M6 northbound through Birmingham, it was stopped at Keele Services in Staffordshire where 11 men were arrested by Central Motorway Police.
The conspiracy relates to alleged planned high value thefts on delivery trucks – already seen in Europe.
The Citroen was found to have a homemade lockable hatch in its roof and on board were several power tools.
Arrests follow the investigation into gangs who board lorries while they are still travelling in a following car and toss the stolen goods into the car.
The men were charged yesterday (Thursday) following a subsequent investigation undertaken by Staffordshire Police. They are due to appear at Newcastle Justice Centre Court today (Friday).
Those charged are: Ion Dumitru (22), Marius Caldararu (37), Ionel Ursaru (38), Ionita Caldararu (33), Alin Vaduva (34), Corado Dumitrascu (22), Nicolae Constantin (36), Craisor Mitrache (34), Felix Macelaru (32), Ionut Baboi (27) and Micera Nicusor (28).
This investigation follows a dedicated operation carried out in April – called Operation Trivium – tackling foreign national offenders. The operation comprised all UK forces, with several national and international agencies and led by the Association of Chief Police Officers and the European Traffic Police Network (TISPOL).