Gold heist of 54 kg in Besançon: eight suspects arrested
An armed gang stole 54 kilos of gold, worth more than 6 million euros, from a company in Besançon on 3 November. Lyon's judicial police dismantled the network within days.
Rapid crackdown following spectacular heist
According to lyonmag.com, on 3 November, several masked and heavily armed individuals burst into the premises of Usigep, a company specialising in high-precision machining for watchmaking and jewellery, located in Besançon in the Doubs. The perpetrators threatened and held several employees captive, some of whom suffered violence, before taking approximately 54 kilos of gold and jewellery, valued at an estimated more than 6 million euros.
Investigation coordinated between several regions
Investigators from Lyon's judicial police, in collaboration with Besançon's judicial police services and the Central Office for Combating Organised Crime (OCLCO), quickly traced the suspects. Between 3 and 4 November, sixteen people were taken into police custody. By Tuesday evening, all of the stolen goods had been recovered in a cache in Besançon.
Two brothers from the city, Sliman and Lahouari F., were among those arrested. These men, already known for previous armed robbery convictions, had been sentenced in absentia in April 2024 to eighteen years' imprisonment each for armed theft. They had left the country to escape the conviction.
International networks and impressive arsenal
The investigation also resulted in arrests in Switzerland and Spain, revealing an organisation operating on an international scale. Searches uncovered an impressive arsenal: heavy weapons, rocket launchers and explosives.
Following the period in custody, eight people—seven men and one woman, aged between 26 and 57—were committed for trial. The legal charges brought include armed theft by an organised gang, attempted murder by an organised gang, aggravated failure to comply with orders, unlawful detention, possession of military weapons and criminal conspiracy. Seven of the eight committed for trial were remanded in custody.
Link with a previous robbery
Investigators established connections with an earlier robbery that occurred on 19 December 2025 at the premises of Losange company, also in Besançon. At that time, perpetrators equipped with Kalashnikov-type rifles stole gold before opening fire at police officers during their escape. The two attacks are now being examined as part of the same judicial investigation, overseen by magistrates specialising in organised crime in Paris.
The national prosecutor for organised crime, Vanessa Perrée, highlighted in a statement issued on 8 November the work of investigators from the National Directorate of Judicial Police in rapidly locating the suspected commando. Investigations are continuing with Swiss and Spanish authorities to determine each person's responsibility and identify all those involved in these two attacks.
Source: Google News FR — Crime (fr)