The trial of six men arrested in 2017 after attacking a van in Switzerland, representing a record haul of 40 million Swiss francs, is due to open on Monday at the assize court in Lyon, eastern France. Half of the defendants are present at the race.
Given the absence of these three defendants under judicial supervision, the court decided last year to postpone the proceedings and issued an arrest warrant against the absentees, who were considered to be “willfully absconding”.
The trial was postponed for the first time in November 2021 because one of the defendants was ill with Covid. The court then deemed it “necessary to try the six defendants together.”
The criminals, mostly from the Lyon region, were arrested in a villa near Annecy (Haute-Savoie, east) a few hours after the night-time attack on a money transporter in the canton of Vaud between Geneva and Lausanne. May 24, 2017.
The six men were arrested in possession of the loot, which consisted of banknotes of various currencies stacked in bags, four gold bars, as well as several thousand precious stones, the total value of which was estimated at more than 40 million Swiss francs (or approximately $62 million at current prices). ).
Most are between 39 and 54 years old and are already known to the courts. They are specifically charged with “organized gang theft with a weapon” and “kidnapping and confiscation” of the two money transmitters, this attack being carried out with assault rifles.
Two of them had already been sentenced to five and seven years in prison for “robbery” in Geneva in 2013. A third person has already been convicted of similar acts in France.
“In the act”
This case is part of a series of high-profile attacks on cash conveyors attributed to Lyon banditry that were carried out in Switzerland.
In the last eight years, at least eight robberies or attempted robberies have been committed in various Swiss cantons. Criminals have often benefited from information about the route and security systems of vans traveling at night, sparking a debate in Switzerland about the security measures that should be implemented.
On Friday, a man who took part in the 2018 robbery of an armored van in Switzerland, taking the daughter of one of the promoters hostage, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by the Lyon court. The case involving a former sponsor had already been heard in March 2023 and had resulted in several convictions. The recently decided case was dismissed due to the defendant's health condition.
The red-handed arrests carried out after the robbery in the canton of Vaud represented a major success for the Research and Intervention Brigade (BRI) of the Lyon Criminal Police Department.
Through cross-checks it was actually possible to establish the presence of the suspects in France a few hours after the attack on the van of the Loomis company – which became a civil party.
Thanks to several months of surveillance based on intelligence information, the anti-gang brigade had actually identified several lodges and in particular a villa considered a possible retreat base in Chavanod, near Annecy. The gang was arrested here.
In addition to the loot, several weapons were found on site, including five assault rifles and various accessories that were used in the robbery. DNA fingerprints of several suspects were found on the seized items.
The defendants face a maximum prison sentence of thirty years, and repeat offenders face life imprisonment.
Two defendants served up to four years in custody in connection with this case. They were released after the maximum period of imprisonment had expired.
The debates are scheduled to last six days and run until Monday, January 29th.