The French Air Force’s Renault Premium truck with a trailer, on which the Terex TL210 bulldozer was placed, has been stolen by unidentified individuals near an airbase in Istres.
The French Army’s Renault Premium truck with an earth-moving machine (Photo: opex360.com)
Unidentified individuals have stolen the Renault Premium truck with a trailer, on which the Terex TL210 bulldozer was placed, the Zone Militaire information website reported on Tuesday. The vehicle, which belonged to the 25th Sapper Regiment of the French Air Force, disappeared near the 125 airbase, located near Istres, on the night of January 15. Since this time, nobody has seen the truck with the trailer.
It is obvious that after terrorist attacks in Nice, Berlin and Jerusalem, which were all committed with trucks, concerns about a possible usage of the stolen truck in a terrorist attack appeared.
However, according to the French Europe1 TV-channel, which reported about this incident, this is not the primary concern. Investigators of the French Air Force suspect scammers, who deal with construction equipment. They also do not exclude the possibility that serious criminal circles are involved.
In addition, two days after the incident, police of the 13th Security District and the RAID elite law enforcement unit of the French National Police detained a criminal group of truck thieves, who transported stolen vehicles to Eastern Europe in the form of spare parts. However, this police operation did not find even a slightest trace of the lost truck of the 25th Regiment.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian has ordered the Inspection of the Armed Forces to run a check of the command of the regiment in order to determine the circumstances of the incident and find potential omissions.
It is not the first time, when the airbase in Istres was involved with crime news. In September 2016, the main Corporal of the base managed to hide firearms in the interest of one of the leaders of local criminals. The investigation was completed quickly, primarily due to footage from surveillance cameras.
The French do seem to go out of the way to make themselves into a joke sometimes. De Gaulle must be spinning his grave in disgust what French politicians have done to the French military and state. Trying so hard these days to dethrone the UK as America’s 51st State.