Men on the prowl

Successful manhunt: shoplifters arrested

Four men between the ages of 22 and 28 are suspected of stealing expensive perfumes from several drugstores in several towns in Styria over the past few days. They were arrested on Wednesday afternoon after a successful manhunt. The loss amounts to several thousand euros.

Four Polish citizens are suspected of having committed shoplifting in drugstores in Frohnleiten on Friday afternoon (April 19) and in Graz, Gratkorn and Kapfenberg on Wednesday morning (April 24). The men traveled by car especially for the respective thefts. They entered the store in different constellations and stole high-priced perfumes. They then fled the store and got into the car ready to leave, where the driver was already waiting.

After the Gratkorn police department had gathered information about the previous thefts, in particular about the perpetrators' vehicle, the vehicle was stopped at around 1 p.m. on Wednesday and the four suspects arrested. In the process, 33 perfumes worth several thousand euros were seized.

The men partially confessed and denied any involvement in the crime. The public prosecutor's office in Leoben ordered all four men to be taken to Leoben prison.