A wave of arrests has taken place in recent weeks in France and Spain in the very secret criminal organization of “thieves in the law”. Fourteen of them are now behind bars.
It is a nice coup that the French and Spanish police have just carried out jointly, in coordination with Europol. On June 19, 23 people were arrested at the same time in the two countries. All are suspected of belonging to “Vory v Zakone”, translation into French of “thieves in the law”, a criminal group originating from countries of the former USSR such as Georgia or Armenia.
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Nine people were finally indicted and imprisoned in France at the beginning of July, five in Spain are also behind bars and are the subject of a European arrest warrant issued by the French judicial authorities. The investigation is being conducted in France by the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crime (Oclco), seized by the specialized interregional jurisdiction (Jirs) of Paris.
Racketeering, extortion and money laundering
This wave of arrests was carried out after investigative work which began in November 2020 by Oclco investigators to put an end to the actions of a group specializing in racketeering, extortion, money laundering, but also shoplifting and cigarette smuggling. At the end of June, the police seized luxury watches, six weapons, numerous mobile phones and a bulletproof vest. Objects that were in 38 houses searched in several cities in France: in Paris, Clermont-Ferrand, Metz, Lyon and Marseille.
These arrests and searches carried out all over the country at the same time have one objective: to prove that the suspects are part of a criminal organization. “It is the need to determine that these are not isolated individuals who commit low-intensity offences, for example shoplifting, which in themselves do not attract the attention of the police, but which together generate significant profits and the need to determine that these first-level thieves belong to a structure which has several dozen members – or even more – and which operate throughout France”indicates to franceinfo the divisional commissioner Guillaume Maniglier, deputy head of the Oclco who led the investigation in France.
A criminal organization “created in the 1930s”
The “thieves in the law” therefore now operate throughout France, whereas less than 15 years ago, this very hierarchical and very violent brotherhood of thieves was almost unknown in Western Europe. It is a criminal organization “which was created in the 1930s in the gulags of the former USSR where Georgian and Armenian criminals put a number of rules supposed to govern their criminal existence”tells franceinfo Yann Sourisseau, the boss of Oclco.
For those who remember, Vincent Cassel and Viggo Mortensen camped in 2007 two characters who evolve in this criminal environment in London in the film Shadow Promises by David Cronenberg. “The film closest to the reality of what ‘thieves in law’ are” in the opinion of the specialized investigators of the Oclco.
What characterizes them first is the ultra-hierarchical structure of the group, with a “Vor” – a leader – at the head of the organization, a very strict initiatory process to be carried out to be admitted into the brotherhood, at the end of which a ceremony is organized during the crowning of the “thief in law”. The law in question is indeed that specific to the criminal group. Each of the members must pay an “obshak”, a tax, or a small share of the stolen loot taken by the Vor. What also characterizes them is the great violence of which they show themselves capable, a violence exerted between them and not against the victims of their thefts or trafficking. “The disputes they have between them can become a settling of accounts. In the Georgian and Armenian community present in France, part of this population is the victim of extortionwarns Yann Sourisseau.
“The ‘thief in law’, the one who is crowned, can act as a justice of the peace, arbiter of disputes between members of his clan. If his voice is not heard, criminals may come to more expeditious solutions, including intentional homicide.”
Yann Sourisseau, head of the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crimeat franceinfo
Tattoos as “oath of allegiance”
The last and most visible characteristic of this group is the importance of the tattoo. “Even if the younger generation uses tattoos much less than the previousnotes divisional commissioner Guillaume Maniglier, these tattoos serve as an oath of allegiance to the criminal organization”. “Each type of tattoo is codified, each tattoo means something. The knife tattoo signifies that the person has already killed, the famous compass rose or star of the Vor signifies an oath of allegiance to the cause of ‘thieves in law’, and the number of steeples tattoo is comparable to the number of convictions the person has had in the service of ‘thieves in law’. It allows to display their status”, adds Guillaume Maniglier.
Today, the presence of this criminal group is such in France – and in the rest of Western Europe – that an Oclco group works full time on “thieves in law” in France. “In almost ten years of existence, more than ten criminal organizations have been identified by the judicial police, 250 people arrested, 150 indicted, and more than 120 people who have been placed under arrest warrant by French justice. The reality is there in terms of acts committed, impact on internal security. abroad for the benefit of this criminal organization”says Yann Sourisseau.
“We can say that it is a criminal organization which has structures in almost all regions of France.”
Yann Sourisseau, head of the Central Office for the Fight against Organized Crimeat franceinfo
So how to explain their development in France, those who specialize in racketeering, shoplifting and the trafficking of contraband cigarettes? For this policeman, the reason is to be found on the side of Georgia, which passed a law in the 2000s that penalizes the simple status of being a “thief in law”. “A large part of these criminals emigrated to Western Europe and beyond to the United States and Canada”, indicates the head of the Oclco. And despite their increasing presence in France and Western Europe, it is very difficult to spot them, because they blend into the crowd. “During our investigations, we found that most of the Vor arrested did not lead a high life, lived decently, were not on the street far from it, but did not own luxury villas with swimming pools or a large number of luxury vehicles., as may be the case with the Italian mafia. The wave of arrests carried out last June showed that, among all the objects seized, there was a watch worth 39,000 euros.