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Munich public prosecutor makes life difficult for phone fraudsters - call center in Izmir blown up

2021-02-13T08:28:33.937Z


There were 6113 acts of fraud by fake police officers in Munich in 2020 - never more. A Munich public prosecutor reports on how she works with the authorities abroad.


There were 6113 acts of fraud by fake police officers in Munich in 2020 - never more.

A Munich public prosecutor reports on how she works with the authorities abroad.

Munich - False police officers keep Bavaria's investigators on their toes.

“This is a particularly shameless scam.

The Bavarian judiciary is taking action against it with all severity, ”says Bavaria's Justice Minister Georg Eisenreich (50, CSU).

But prosecution is difficult - because the backers are often in Turkey or Eastern Europe.

From there, they call the seniors in Munich * - and pretend that there is a danger from burglars and that an officer must therefore pick up their valuables.

In the state capital alone, the damage for 2020 amounted to more than 4.6 million euros.

Only 51 deeds were completed - but the consequences for the victims "are significant", Eisenreich knows.

Telephone scammers: Successful investigation in Turkey - 39 arrests

In various cases, the police * and the public prosecutor's office have already succeeded in arresting the person collecting them - they are easiest to grasp because they go straight to the injured party and often take their valuables with them at the front door.

The backers abroad are difficult for German authorities to grasp - the cooperation with the authorities in the respective country is also important, according to investigator Ulrike Hahn (49) from the Munich I public prosecutor's office. She has traveled to Turkey in recent months, to exchange information with other investigators.

“My visit was intended to strengthen international cooperation,” says the prosecutor.

The success was impressive: In Izmir, the Turkish authorities succeeded in seizing a call center at the end of December 2020, a total of 39 perpetrators were arrested - one of the greatest successes in the investigation against con artists, which was also based on information from Munich (we reported).

“If we were to investigate only in Munich *, we would only catch the perpetrators here on site.

But those behind them keep going, so it is incredibly important that we work together with the foreign authorities, ”says Ulrike Hahn, explaining the procedure.

Because there in the well-organized gangs sit the so-called logisticians and boars who speak good German, the latter make the calls.

Phone scammers: Call center in Izmir picked up

For several years now, the Munich public prosecutor's office has repeatedly submitted requests for legal assistance to Turkey, including at the beginning of 2019. "As a result, the Turkish authorities started their own investigations - also against people against whom we are investigating in Munich," says Hahn.

That then led to a blow against a call center with several arrests.

"The criminal proceedings are ongoing - also against those accused from the large arrest in Izmir." The access in Izmir by the Turkish authorities was also related to another request for legal assistance from August 2019. Again there was an intensive exchange of information - and important search successes.

The Turkish police are now also forwarding information to the Phenomena Working Group, says Hahn.

26 officers are investigating there in the working group of the Munich police, in close cooperation with two specialized public prosecutors.

"In the long term, the plan is for cooperation not only to take place between the police authorities, but also at the judiciary level," says Hahn.

So that the tricksters can be pushed back - and the deeds become less.

Bavaria's Justice Minister is also pursuing this goal: "We want to further increase the persecution pressure on international fraudsters, smugglers, drug and arms dealers," says Georg Eisenreich.

* tz.de is part of the Ippen-Digital network.

You can find more news from Munich on our section page.

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-02-13

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