Suspected mobile phone thieves arrested in Trier – damages worth half a million euros
Two men allegedly ordered smartphones and tablets worth approximately 500,000 euros and failed to pay for them. They used fake companies and forged identities to do so.
Suspected mobile phone thieves arrested in Trier – damages worth half a million euros
Trier criminal police have uncovered a fraud scheme involving high-value electronics. Two men are suspected of ordering smartphones and tablets with a total estimated value of around half a million euros from an IT retailer in the region over a period of time, without ever paying for the devices.
In order to cover their tracks, the suspects allegedly provided forged personal details and used fake companies as a front. The exact circumstances of the orders are currently under investigation.
Investigators from Trier were able to locate the two suspected perpetrators. The duo consists of one man resident in Switzerland and another who lives in Austria. In a joint operation involving several police services from four German federal states as well as from Switzerland and Liechtenstein, the two suspects were arrested – one in Stuttgart, the other in Lochau in Austria.
In the course of twelve searches in commercial and private premises, officers found, in addition to the stolen devices, a large five-figure sum of cash, gold and silver bars, and an unregistered firearm together with ammunition.
The suspect arrested in Stuttgart was brought before a judge and is now in remand custody. His accomplice is currently in Austrian custody. The Trier public prosecutor's office has initiated extradition proceedings to bring him to Germany as well.
Source: SWR
Source: Google News AT — Crime (de)