Joint Operation Recovers Stolen Trailers
The Mossos d'Esquadra and French National Police have recovered 95 new motorcycles stolen from a parking lot in Masquefa, Barcelona, on the night of Sunday, 27 September 2026. The vehicles were found in Cagnes-sur-Mer, a town within the Nice urban area, after a cross-border operation coordinated through the Police and Customs Cooperation Centre (CCPD) of El Pertús. Two Romanian nationals, aged 38 and 39, were arrested at the scene and are now in custody of French judicial authorities. They are accused of aggravated theft for allegedly stealing two articulated trailers loaded with motorcycles and mopeds of various French and Italian brands.
GPS Tracking Enabled Recovery
The thieves disabled one GPS tracker and discarded the original license plates in an open field, replacing them with false Romanian plates. However, they failed to detect a hidden GPS in some of the motorcycles, which allowed police to trace the convoy’s route into France. French police intercepted the trailers shortly after the theft, thanks to real-time intelligence sharing between Catalan and French law enforcement agencies. All 95 vehicles have since been returned to their owners in Catalonia.
This operation highlights the effectiveness of cross-border collaboration in tackling organised vehicle theft.
The investigation remains open and is being led by the Local Judicial Police Service in Cagnes-sur-Mer, in coordination with Catalan authorities.
Primary sources: dsp.interior.gencat.cat, mossos.gencat.cat. Reported by lavanguardia.com, diaricatalunya.cat, elperiodico.com, elcaso.elnacional.cat, lindependant.fr, Noémie RAVEL, labustia.cat, mundodeportivo.com, elconfidencial.com, La Vanguardia Catalonia.
