Arrest

Series of burglaries solved

Symbolic image.(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

A 44-year-old Croatian man is suspected of committing 14 burglaries in Styria and three other provinces between March and April of this year. The public prosecutor's office in Leoben ordered him to be taken to Leoben prison. 

The suspect is allegedly responsible for 14 burglaries and two attempted burglaries of coin counting machines in the foyers of financial institutions. The coin boxes were broken into during the night. The suspect was active in the provinces of Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg and Lower Austria. The loss amounts to several thousand euros.

Close cooperation
The investigations were carried out in close cooperation between the Styrian Provincial Criminal Police Office and the Carinthian and Salzburg Provincial Criminal Police Offices, as well as a liaison officer in Croatia. Together with the Croatian authorities, the investigators finally managed to track down the suspect, who was living in Croatia.

Arrested after entering Austria
The suspect was arrested on April 25 in Feldbach by officers from the Task Force for Combating Street Crime. During his interrogation, the Croatian confessed to all the burglaries. The 44-year-old cited financial hardship as his motive. The man was only released from prison in Germany in mid-March. There he was serving a 31-month prison sentence for property offenses.