Trial in Innsbruck

Vending machines hacked: criminal tourist goes to prison

Symbol photo(Bild: Martin A. Jöchl)

A Turkish man (34) living in Germany targeted a total of 13 ÖBB ticket machines, mainly in Tyrol, starting in the fall. He cracked them, sometimes with accomplices, and stole around 9300 euros. Now the man was in court in Innsbruck.

"I did it," admitted the accused, who has a criminal record. The man had once had the idea of cracking ticket machines in neighboring Austria to steal money in a bar in Germany when he had taken drugs with someone else. Incidentally, the idea is older: he had already been sentenced to 21 months in prison in Vorarlberg for the same offense.

Driven by gambling addiction and money for drugs
The accused said that the driving force behind the serious thefts in question was the money he needed for drugs and his gambling addiction. He had been addicted to gambling for ten years and had been using drugs since he was 13 years old. "Recently, it has increasingly turned to cocaine", he explained. He also knew the reasons why ÖBB and Austria came into his focus: "There are no such machines in Germany and I specialized in the ones in Austria, so to speak."

There are no such machines here.

Der Angeklagte vor Gericht

Stenge demanded punishment
In his closing statement, the public prosecutor ultimately demanded a severe sentence - also for reasons of general prevention. "This is clearly a case of criminal tourism and we certainly don't need that in Austria," said the public prosecutor.

Defendant accepted sentence immediately
Although the man subsequently affirmed in his closing words that he was "very sorry for everything", the judge followed the direction suggested by the public prosecutor. "I think 40 months' imprisonment is appropriate for guilt and deed," he said. "You obviously only learn with pain," he added. The 34-year-old must also pay ÖBB for the damage of more than 56,000 euros. The verdict is already final.