Manhunt underway

Looting spree throughout Austria: police chase duo

Alexandra T. photographed the perpetrators on her cell phone.

(Bild: Christian Schulter)

In just one month, two thieves stole more than €10,000 from various store cash registers throughout Austria. The State Office of Criminal Investigation has now published the mugshots and is urgently appealing for information on the two perpetrators.

The trail of the wanted criminals leads right across Austria. Their spree began in Oberwart. As reported, the criminals raided Alexandra T.'s store almost six weeks ago. At around 4 p.m., a perpetrator asked about children's shoes in English. At the back of the shop, he took a model from the shelf and engaged the manager in a conversation about the right shoe size.

The police have now published mugshots of the men.

(Bild: Polizei)

Perpetrator distracted woman
Only later did it become clear that the tall, muscular man had been tasked with distracting the shop assistant. While the "customer" had tried to attract all the attention, his accomplice crept into the store and got down on all fours to grab T.'s purse, which was in her handbag under the work desk. It was only when his white baseball cap, which he was wearing upside down, was visible above the wooden table that the thief was noticed. He also pretended to be a harmless customer.

The sales clerk took photos
"I wanted to confront him. Because I noticed that my wallet was in my handbag vertically rather than horizontally. All the banknotes, a total of 300 euros, were gone," she said. "Really, you took the money from me?" the victim asked the thief. "The man who was crouching in front of me looked at me in bewilderment and ran off shortly afterwards," said T., describing the incident.

In the meantime, the powerfully built accomplice walked out of the store. "Everything he wanted to know from me about the children's shoes suddenly no longer interested him," says T. She at least had enough time to take photos of the suspects with her cell phone.

The perpetrators are accused of grand larceny. The scam is always the same. One accomplice engages the victim in conversation while the other plunders the till.

Ein Beamter des Landeskriminalamtes Tirol zu den laufenden Ermittlungen

Further coups
The police are now searching for the perpetrators with mugshots. After the coup in Burgenland, the professionals committed a total of eleven thefts in smaller retail businesses in Carinthia, Salzburg and Tyrol. In all cases, the duo followed the same pattern.

The investigators are hoping for information from room renters along the route from St. Veit an der Glan via Spittal an der Drau, Mittersill and St. Johann to Wörgl: Landeskriminalamt Tirol on 059 133/70-3333 or any other police station.