Seven people who were involved in the cloning and subsequent fraudulent use of payment cards on French highways have been arrested in a joint operation carried out by the Civil Guard and the French Gendarmerie. The defrauded amount exceeds 100,000 euros and the agents have found four card cloning machines and 185 fraudulent payment cards, which were used by truckers from Spanish companies.
As reported by the armed forces in a statement, the criminal organization was based in the provinces of Tarragona, Zaragoza and Castellón. Two of the arrests have taken place in Reus (Tarragona), one in Castellón, one in Zaragoza, one in Martorell (Barcelona) and two in Las Landas (France).
The agents have carried out six searches in homes and another three in companies, where they have found two firearms, 185 counterfeit payment cards, four card cloning machines, 1,200 euros in counterfeit bills and more than 6,000 euros in bills. legal tender, numerous cartridges, electronic and telephone devices.
The investigation originated in 2021, following a complaint from the company that was awarded the French highways. The company was being defrauded with a series of massive scams carried out by truckers, employees in Spanish companies.
After initiating the exchange of information, the investigators warned that these same companies could be used to smuggle tobacco to other European countries. The agents requested the involvement of Europol in the investigation to coordinate the different police units of the different countries.
The investigation has made it possible to clarify the corporate structure used to evade legal responsibilities, as well as the maneuvers carried out to hide the real ownership of the companies that were part of that structure. Likewise, it has been possible to identify the people who carried out the work of cloning the payment cards, which were used by truckers, workers of the commercial companies investigated.
At the home of one of the detainees in the town of Reus, two firearms were found and a person was located, with an arrest warrant from the National Court, following an order issued by a German court.
The operation has been carried out by the Judicial Police Unit of the Civil Guard of Tarragona within the framework of the Lura-Fortuna operation, in a joint investigation with the Recherches Section of the Pau Gendarmerie (France). Civil guards of Information, GAR, GRS, Cynological and Citizen Security have participated
