Memmingen - At the beginning of June last year, two construction containers with construction site tools and a stay container for the construction site workers were broken into on Lisztstrasse in Memmingen. The value of the loot - tools and construction electrical equipment - was in the mid five-digit range, the property damage to the containers was around 10,000 euros. The location of the evidence was more than meager, the police at first at a loss.
But the persistent evaluation of the scanty traces brought the Memmingen police to a success after all.
Two pairs of gloves and two lashing straps were found at the scene.
The meticulous examination of the gloves by means of a DNA analysis finally brought the breakthrough: three different DNA traces could be found.
When comparing data in the national and international database, a hit was also found.
It led to a 33-year-old man who was already noticed in Belgium and Finland.
The Memmingen public prosecutor's office advertised him for a search via Europol.
A European arrest warrant was sent to the other EU states, as the whereabouts of the wanted person was not known.
Imprisoned in France
Two weeks later, in mid-August of this year, the French law enforcement authorities reported that the wanted person was in custody in France for another offense.
The extradition procedure has been applied for and approved, but the extradition will take some time as the French authorities want to conclude their criminal proceedings first.
As it turned out, the traces of the wanted could also be followed in Romania, the Netherlands, Sweden, Italy and Spain.
European cooperation
The Memmingen public prosecutor's office is accused of gang theft, as further traces of possible, as yet unknown accomplices have been found.
Thorsten Thamm, press spokesman for the Memmingen public prosecutor's office, emphasized the smooth and efficient cooperation within the European Union.
Sought-after black market good
Joachim Huber, police director and head of the Memmingen police station at Schanzmeister, reported on an apparently well-functioning black market for stolen construction tools. In the case of theft, everything is interesting that can be quickly turned into money. And although even the construction equipment manufacturers now use the police wanted lists for the maintenance of machines, investigation hits are very rare, since the serial numbers of the tools are usually removed immediately after the theft. He advises construction companies, if possible, to use video surveillance of the construction sites or, where significant values are stored, to also have controls carried out by security services. Car owners are currently also affected by the latest theft trend: More and more catalysts with a flex are being sawn out of their cars under the car,because they are rich in so-called "rare earths" that can be turned into money.
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