International burglary gang arrested in Budapest – damage of nearly 17 million forints
A criminal group passing through from Slovakia broke into flats in six Budapest districts in September. Police identified and arrested the three suspects based on a Toyota RAV4 with Ukrainian registration plates.
Dark blue Toyota with Ukrainian plates led to arrest of Budapest burglary trio
Police in Budapest arrested three members of an international burglary gang arriving from the direction of Slovakia, according to infostart.hu. Between 15 and 25 September, the men broke into flats in six districts and stole technical goods, jewellery, expensive watches and cash worth nearly 17 million forints, said Lieutenant Colonel Sándor Gál.
Six districts, daytime break-ins, non-destructive lock openings
The break-ins were carried out in districts I, II, III and XI on the Buda side, and districts XIII and XIV on the Pest side. According to Lieutenant Colonel Gál, several common characteristics linked the cases: all the crimes took place during the day, and in each instance the thieves opened the front door without causing damage.
Dark blue Toyota gave them away
Investigators proceeded from the assumption that the criminals drove around the city by car to transport stolen goods. CCTV footage recorded near the scenes of the break-ins captured a dark blue Toyota RAV4 with Ukrainian registration plates carrying three male passengers. On 25 September, a crime prevention patrol operation was organised in Budapest city centre, during which the vehicle was found. The three suspects were arrested with the assistance of commandos from the Counter-Terrorism Centre.
During the search and inspection of the car, special tools used for break-ins and lock-picking, suspicious narcotics substances, some of the stolen goods and part of the cash were found. The criminals had been in Hungary since 28 August.
Refused to make statements, court ordered 30-day detention
The three men refused to make statements and cooperate with investigators during questioning. The court ordered their detention for 30 days. According to the suspicion, two of them actively participated in the break-ins, while the third acted as a driver.
Contact with foreign authorities
Answering a question from MTI, Sándor Gál said that, since the suspects are allegedly transit criminals – who commit several crimes in individual countries and then move on – the investigation will include contacting the authorities of the countries of which the suspects are citizens and neighbouring countries in order to establish whether crimes have been committed in other states. The lieutenant colonel added that the number of residential burglaries in Budapest is not exceptionally high and, according to statistics from recent years, has stagnated.
Source: Google News HU — Crime (hu)