Like in an action movie

Gang of thieves clear out trucks at full speed in Poland

Three men from Ukraine in custody.

(Bild: Risto Arnaudov)

Police in Poland have arrested three thieves who are said to have stripped goods from trucks at full speed dozens of times in breakneck action style.

The men are said to be members of an organized gang who have used this probably unique "method" countless times over the past five years and are believed to have been successful.

However, the on-board camera finally captured how the thieves proceeded. In the dark, they approached a truck driving on the highway in a speeding car. The driver switched off his dipped headlights and then drove as close as possible to the rear of the semi-trailer to avoid coming into the truck driver's field of vision.

Tarpaulin unlocked and climbed into truck
"The footage shows how one of the men climbs out of the vehicle through an open window and then climbs onto the hood. As the car approaches the truck, the perpetrator tears open the tarpaulin and climbs into the trailer," says the police statement. The perpetrator later jumped from the trailer back onto the hood of the car before getting inside through the open window.

Theft often only noticed at the destination
Because of the unusual procedure, the theft was often only noticed by the truck drivers at the destination.

Men from Ukraine remanded in custody
The method was discovered when a long-distance driver on the S8 highway east of Wroclaw found the driving behavior of a car suspicious and called the police. The occupants of the vehicle were arrested and their homes searched. The three men from Ukraine are now in custody.

The public prosecutor's office is investigating them for membership of a criminal organization and attempted burglary. If convicted, they could face up to ten years in prison.