More than 2,800 thefts of spare parts have been recorded in Marseille. This city is the most affected by car dismantling in France. TF1’s 8 p.m. went there to understand the workings of this traffic.

Follow the full coverage

LE WE 20H

His vehicle is roughly dismantled, parts stolen, but the thugs don’t stop there. The same night, they attacked the engine of his neighbor’s car. “They took the radiator, the hood, the fenders are missing, the front bumper“, explains Margaux Penin at the microphone of TF1, traumatized by the idea that someone could have entered the building. “I felt safe because we are in a relatively new residence, with a gate, an underground garage, etc. And there, it’s true that it’s funny, it looks like we broke into our house“, continues the young woman. In total, her damage is between 8 and 10,000 euros.

The phenomenon is far from being an isolated case. In a neighboring neighborhood, video surveillance images show the same mode of operation: two men, after dismantling a vehicle, flee, bumpers and tires in their hands. Last year, more than 2,800 thefts of spare parts were recorded in Marseille, the French city most affected by car dismantling.

Particularly lucrative traffic

The stolen parts are then sold on the black market, sometimes even in the street. A TF1 journalist, with a discreet camera in the report, pretends to want to replace the reversing camera in his car. “My wife’s backup cameras were stolen. We wanted to know if you could repair them for us, if you had any parts“, he asks. If the reversing camera is only available after several weeks of waiting with its manufacturer, the mechanic is much faster: “I have the part. If you come by around 5 p.m., if I see that they haven’t pulled out the wires, I’ll take a camera, I’ll quickly plug it in, it’s quick. It takes 10 minutes. I’ll take 150 euros from you.”. That’s three times cheaper than with a professional.

Traffic is particularly lucrative so in Vitrolles, about twenty kilometers from Marseille, a brigade of specialized police officers was created: the “GTA”, understand “Group for the Fight against Automobile Traffic”. In their sights today, a body shop, under surveillance for months. Calenders, catalytic converters and even starters, hundreds of parts are piled up in every corner of the hangar. All are scrutinized. “There, I run the license plate into the file to see if she has committed any offenses, if the vehicle is reported stolen. It gives us a bit of his pedigree.”explains Michaël Maietta, head of the GTA brigade.

Up to 5 years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros

Right next door, these police officers question the 32-year-old manager who admits to concealed work for an employee. But this is not the only discovery that investigators will make. In the attic and under a thick layer of dust, doors and other spare parts come from three different vehicles and come back as reported stolen. “We switch to a judicial framework. We have discovered elements that make us tip over into flagrantity”, warns Fabien Nicoletti, chief brigadier and coordinator of the GTA brigade, who asks the TF1 team to leave the premises. The owner of the garage, placed in police custody, risks up to 5 years in prison and a fine of 375,000 euros.

• Read also

  This is why the tires of your electric car wear out faster than a thermal car

According to the divisional commissioner of Vitrolles, Christophe Haget, this boss could be part of a larger network of resale of spare parts. “Some mechanics have teams working for them. Saying, “I need a 5008 bonnet and I need a 5008 front”. Strangely, a week later, you have a 5008 which is new Flemish. If we don’t check the garages to find out if there is an invoice that corresponds to the parts that were changed on your car, we will never know that it is stolen“, explains the commissioner.

The editorial staff of TF1info Report E. Binet, M. Jit, É. Bonnot