A total of 21 heavy-duty trucks along with luxury vehicles were seized on Sunday in a business park in Bruges, Western Flanders, Filiep De Ketelaere, of the province’s work inspection division, said on Monday. The seizures were part of a Franco-Belgian investigation into a Rumanian company, aimed at fighting social fraud in the transport sector.
The checks were carried out on Sunday in the towns of Damme and Ichtegem, with the participation of the Federal Judiciary Police, the French gendarmerie and the Social Law Inspection and Monitoring Service. A search was also conducted at a business park belonging to a Belgian client who often used the services of the suspected Rumanian company.
Thus far, 21 trucks with foreign license plates and many luxury vehicles were seized. All the drivers present at the checks were questioned. At the same time, a search was conducted at a room in France used by the drivers. Some 14 vehicles were found and their chauffeurs were all taken in for questioning.
“This action was aimed at examining whether the Rumanian company is guilty of social dumping, systematically getting around Belgian social laws in that way and thus creating unlawful competition with other companies which apply the rules, stressed De Ketelaere. "The operation confirms the increasingly close cooperation among the legal authorities of various countries to curb this fraud, which transcends borders”.
The Brussels Times
