Burglars sold their loot on Leboncoin to make a profit

In February, a man was the victim of a burglary in the town of Melun. Among the items stolen by the burglars was a lawnmower belonging to the victim. Imagine his astonishment when he went to the classified ads website Leboncoin to do business, and recognised his stolen lawnmower listed for sale. The man then decided to contact the burglars to arrange a fake meeting...

The victim finds one of the stolen items on Leboncoin

Before going any further in contacting the suspected burglars, the burglary victim decided to alert the police. Once the police had been alerted, the victim set up a meeting with the dealers, showing a particular interest in buying the lawnmower advertised for sale on Leboncoin. The scammers responded favourably and a meeting was arranged on Wednesday 25 February between the so-called sellers and the bogus buyer. The man went to the meeting place at Place Saint-Jean in Melun. He was confronted by three individuals. Fortunately, the police stopped them and arrested them immediately.

The police then discovered that the individuals in question, aged between 33 and 38, were well known to the police for their activities. They were taken into custody. Although they had been caught in flagrante delicto and were known to the police, they denied all the charges against them, particularly the theft. Fortunately, after they were taken into custody, searches were carried out at their homes, which proved their involvement in other burglaries. These burglaries were carried out in the days following their arrest, in Vert-Saint-Denis and Combs-la-Ville.

One of the burglars tries to escape justice

However, police custody did not go according to plan. One of the detainees took advantage of a cigarette break to swallow several sleeping pills hidden in his cigarette packet. As a result, he had to be rushed to hospital in Melun, but his health is not in danger. He was therefore finally declared irresponsible. As for his other accomplices, they will shortly be brought before the courts to answer for their actions.

As far as the police are concerned, it is not uncommon for them to intervene in bogus meetings organised to apprehend individuals suspected of theft from resale websites. Often, individuals even set up ambushes by posing as potential buyers on classified ad sites, with the aim of stealing the goods they were supposed to buy.

Avoid scams on classified ad sites with Obvy

Because of the current health situation, many people have taken advantage of the opportunity to rip off individuals on classified ad sites such as Leboncoin. So you need to be extra vigilant, and it's vital that you use a secure payment method for your transactions. Fortunately, Obvy is the ideal secure payment solution for both private individuals and professionals. By acting as a trusted third party, Obvy ensures that your transactions are 100% secure!