A gang suspected of cloning fuel cards and then using them to steal fuel for resale has been brought down by The Federal Judicial Police (FGP) in East Flanders.
A total of 17 suspects were arrested after police forces raided nine houses in Belgium (eight in Brussels) and 16 in Romania.
Following the discovery of a cloning device on a card reader in a petrol station, the East Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office (Dendermonde division) instructed the local chapter of the Federal Judicial Police to investigate the matter.
An initial investigation revealed a gang that had installed a skimming device at several petrol stations, in order to then be able to fraudulently refuel using copied fuel cards.
Intensive investigation showed that the fuel cards were copied with skimming devices, and then, at the expense of the unsuspecting victims, they went to refuel trucks or vans equipped with large plastic barrels with a capacity of 1000 litres.
This fuel was then sold on to transport companies, among others. The total damage is estimated at at least €350,000. A number of suspects are staying in Romania, forcing the East Flanders Public Prosecutor's Office to have made the necessary arrangements with the national Romanian Public Prosecutor's Office.
On 21 January, nine house searches were carried out in Belgium (eight in Brussels, one in Zulte), during which a total of six people were arrested. The suspects arrested in Belgium had already been brought before the investigating judge in Ghent, who charged three of them.
The same day, 16 house searches were also carried out in Romania, during which 11 people were arrested. Two of them were arrested under a European Arrest Warrant with a view to extradition to Belgium.
