Eurojust has assisted the authorities in France, Belgium and Luxembourg with a series of coordinated searches of premises and offices of an international tyre manufacturer. These searches took place this week at the request of the judicial authorities in Besançon in France, in the context of investigations into involuntary manslaughter linked to technical failures that led to tyre explosions.
The investigations in France concern a series of accidents between 2011 and 2016, which allegedly led to the death of three lorry drivers. The investigations are looking into whether the tyre producer was aware of potential failures and whether the company had addressed the technical issues or not.
Eurojust was asked by the French authorities in 2023 to provide legal advice on the cross-border aspects of the investigations and to coordinate judicial actions in various EU Member States. For this purpose, the Agency has set up a coordination centre at its premises in The Hague to assist the authorities concerned with the investigations and simultaneous searches in France, Belgium and Luxembourg.
Investigations into the case are ongoing and the Agency stands ready to assist the authorities concerned with any future requests for cross-border judicial cooperation.
The operations that took place this week were carried out by:
- France: Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) of Besançon; Gendarmerie Nationale – Criminal Investigation Department Amiens, National Cyber Support and Intervention Section, Criminal Investigation Department Versailles
- Belgium: Investigative Judge at Court of First Instance of Antwerp, section Turnhout; PPO Antwerp, section Turnhout; Federal Judicial Police Antwerp
- Luxembourg: Investigative Judge at District Court of Luxembourg; Grand Ducal Police – Police Judiciaire
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union