In the Klagenfurt area

Brazen handbag thieves lurking outside supermarkets

This is how shopping becomes particularly expensive: The Carinthian police are currently issuing an urgent warning about criminal gangs of thieves who help themselves to unlocked cars in supermarket parking lots in the Klagenfurt area.

The modus operandi is always the same: the brazen thieves watch their potential victims as they shop and wait patiently until they roll their purchases to their vehicles and load them. Then the perpetrators strike at lightning speed: when the shopping cart is pushed back, the criminals seize the opportunity, grab the handbags or wallets left in the unlocked trolley and make off with them.

After the criminals have finally plundered their loot, they dispose of the bags near the scene of the crime. Due to the numerous recent robberies in several supermarket parking lots in the Klagenfurt area, the police are urging people to lock their vehicles - even if they are only away for a short time. Furthermore, people are asked to report any suspicious sightings to the nearest police station or by calling the emergency number 133.