Trial in Feldkirch

Champagne thieves in swimsuits

The two defendants came up with some fairy tales.

(Bild: Chantal Dorn, Krone KREATIV)

Two Romanian criminal tourists had to answer to the Feldkirch Regional Court on Wednesday. The thieving duo sometimes resorted to bizarre means during their theft sprees. 

The 32-year-old first defendant and his 28-year-old accomplice had traveled from Romania to Vorarlberg several times in order to go on a big haul in supermarkets. In addition to conventional toiletries, the two unemployed men were mainly after expensive alcoholic beverages such as champagne, vodka and cognac. As soon as one of them had left the supermarket with his stolen goods, the other went in unabashedly to steal. One of the perpetrators came up with something special to sneak the loot past the checkout as inconspicuously and slimly as possible: He squeezed himself into a tight swimsuit and then stuffed the stolen goods into it.

A penchant for particularly exclusive wines 
In mid-January, the duo were finally caught in quick succession. During a search of their rented room, the officers were astonished when they seized around 40 packs of toothbrush attachments and almost 50 bottles of high-priced champagne, vodka and cognac with a total value of more than 5,000 euros. During the trial, both thieves confessed to having committed the crimes, but their justifications were outrageous: the swimsuit wearer claimed that he had only worn the tight one-piece because of his back problems, while the other tried to convince the court that he had "procured" the 50 seized bottles for his upcoming birthday in three and a half months. The toothbrush attachments would also have been presents for the family in Romania.

The judge did not believe a word the two criminal tourists said and sentenced them to twelve and nine months' imprisonment respectively.