Deposit-bottle fraud across Austria: Seven Romanians with 600,000 counterfeits
A seven-member gang is said to have caused damage in the six-figure euro range using 600,000 counterfeit returnable bottles. Two suspects were arrested in Romania.
Deposit-bottle gang exposed in Austria
Police have uncovered nationwide fraud involving counterfeit deposit bottles, as noe.orf.at reports. An alleged seven-member group is said to have redeemed hundreds of thousands of counterfeit returnable bottles at deposit machines throughout Austria since the end of January 2026, pocketing the money.
The investigation was preceded by the arrest of a 29-year-old Romanian in March in Wiener Neustadt. He was observed unlawfully cashing in empty container receipts at the till of a discount grocery store. Police found a large quantity of counterfeit returnable bottles in his vehicle.
The group is said to have transported the bottles by lorry to a specially rented storage hall in the Bruck an der Leitha district. From there they were transported by small vans to the deposit machines. In total, approximately 600,000 bottles are said to have been redeemed. According to police, the total damage is in the low six-figure euro range.
In the course of further investigations, six additional Romanian suspects were identified. The public prosecutor's office in Wiener Neustadt issued European arrest warrants against five of them. Two suspects were arrested in Romania at the end of October; three others remain at large.
The 29-year-old arrested in March was already sentenced to unconditional imprisonment in August, a sentence that is now final.
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)