Caught thanks to a witness

Burglars steal bikes from store with a fishing rod

The burglars managed to get hold of almost 15 e-bikes worth 80,000 euros.

(Bild: Wallner Hannes)

Cinematic scenes took place in Graz-Puntigam on Wednesday night: unknown perpetrators entered a bicycle store via the roof and used a rope to fish out several e-bikes worth 80,000 euros. A cleaner caught them at the last second.

It is a burglary method that is otherwise only known from crime thrillers: the "Rififi method" goes back to a French film from 1955 - burglars "fish" for their prey with a rope that they lower from the ceiling.

Roped down through a skylight dome
In this case too, the unknown perpetrators gained access via the roof of the bicycle store. On Wednesday night, they smashed a dome light through which they were able to lower the rope with hooks. They "fished" several e-bikes out of the salesroom and roped them down again at the back of the building.

Cleaner proves to be the hero of the story
Fortunately, an attentive cleaner from a neighboring company noticed the perpetrators as they pushed the bikes past the building. She followed the trail and saw that there were already 15 bikes waiting to be picked up. She immediately called the police because her company had also recently been burgled.

Almost 80,000 euros would have been gone
Thanks to her hot tip, the police were able to prevent the perpetrators from making off with the loot. The "caught" e-bikes are worth almost 80,000 euros. The search is now on for the perpetrators - video surveillance at a neighboring petrol station was able to catch their faces.