Men want to steal wheel loaders - but that goes horribly wrong

Created: 11/23/2022, 2:10 p.m

A theft attempt in NRW on Monday evening was anything but planned.

Two wheel loader thieves argued and fought until the police arrived.

Niederkrüchten – When witnesses heard screams at a construction site in Niederkrüchten (Viersen district in North Rhine-Westphalia) late Monday evening, they alerted the police.

The civilian officers deployed were able to catch two wheel loader thieves (54 and 36 years) in the act.

Apparently, a dispute between the thieves had turned into a fight because the men had underestimated the weight of the wheel loader.

The wheel loader was clearly too heavy for trailers and cars - so the thieves were caught.

© Police District Viersen

Niederkrüchten: Wheel loader thieves argue until the police arrive

Residents on Oberkrüchtener Weg had alerted the police around 11:30 p.m., reports 24RHEIN.

At a local construction site, two people stood next to a car with a trailer and argued.

The dispute degenerated into a brawl, police said.

When a civilian police arrived on site, one of the men initially fled on foot.

The other could be arrested.

The fugitive was also arrested shortly thereafter.

"Both men appeared to be under the influence of drugs.

A car trailer was attached to the car next to which the argument had started.

A wheel loader stood on it.

Since there was a suspicion that the duo had stolen the wheel loader, the emergency services temporarily arrested both men and secured the car, trailer and wheel loader," reports a police spokesman.

Niederkrüchten: Theft of a wheel loader goes wrong – thieves underestimate the weight

It then turned out that not only the wheel loader but also the car and the trailer had been stolen.

What the two thieves had not considered: The wheel loader was far too heavy for the trailer and the car.

"Apparently the duo had underestimated the weight of the construction machine," the police spokesman continued.

When the two men from Wegberg (Heinsberg district) noticed that the wheel loader was too heavy and the car could not pull the entire combination at all, a dispute between the two escalated.

The 54-year-old was injured in the fight and required hospital treatment.

The 36-year-old was arrested.

According to the police, the man was wanted with four arrest warrants, including for burglary.

It is still unclear where the wheel loader came from.

The investigators are therefore asking for witnesses.