A group of 19 Romanians, part of a criminal network specializing in the theft of agricultural equipment, have been sentenced to jail in Nancy, in France, but only one of them was actually taken to jail following the court decision.

Only 10 of the 19 were in the court room at the beginning of the trial, according to French media, and 8 of them left during the trial. Out of the two left, only one got a prison sentence without parole, while the second was able to walk out freely.

The jail sentences range between six years and two and a half years. The heads of the network, who got the biggest sentences, were not present at the trial.

The group, nicknamed 'The Obese', is made of Romanians aged 26 to 52, coming from the town of Borsa, in Northern Romania.

According to the prosecutors, the gang was working in smaller teams, mostly during the night or on weekends, targeting isolated company headquarters or farms. They broke in, stole tractors, excavators, and other equipment, which were then loaded into trucks. The total damage was calculated at some EUR 8 million.

The crime ring made 60 hits, and stole 130 pieces of equipment, between 2008 and 2010, in the North – Eastern region of France.

editor@romania-insider.com