Gang busted stealing solar panels for export

Police arrested nine people for aggravated theft near the Lazio city of Rieti on Monday for allegedly stealing and exporting solar panels. Police said that the gang, all Moroccan nationals, were specialized in dismantling the panels that were then packaged and transported to Morocco from the Italian port cities of Livorno and Genoa. Each panel was then sold on the Moroccan market for about 200 euros. Investigators said that the gang, which operated in the provinces near Rieti, Isernia, Teramo, Potenza and Foggia, was able to take over 3,500 solar panels worth approximately 1.4 million euros in one single operation in May 2011.