A serial burglar has been committing mischief in Vienna for several months. The targets of his burglaries have been jewelry stores, jewelers and studios in the districts of Josefstadt and Neubau, and he has been charged with a total of 18 burglaries since December. The damage: a total of about 600,000 euros.
The 20-year-old always behaved the same way. He gained access to the shops through glass doors and shop windows. He is also accused of blowing up an ATM in an Asian restaurant in the Neubau district with a stolen gas cylinder. There was significant property damage, but the perpetrator was unable to collect cash. He also broke into CBD stores twice.
Of the total damage of 600,000 euros, the material damage alone amounts to around 100,000 euros, police spokesman Markus Dittrich reports.
Arrested while selling the loot
Investigators tracked down the suspect when they discovered that parts of the stolen jewelry had been offered for sale on an internet platform. A search was made for the well-known Afghan behind the offers, but he did not stay in Austria. The 20-year-old was finally arrested in March 2023 in a jewelry store on Alsergrund. There the young man wanted to sell jewelry that he had previously stolen in a burglary in Josefstadt.
Underground parking garage as a shelter for loot
The suspect refused to testify and also said nothing about the whereabouts of the rest of the stolen goods. According to Dittrich, the detectives managed to cordon off an area and secure numerous valuables in an underground car park in the Neubau district by monitoring the man’s movement patterns. The 20-year-old had deposited the things there “everywhere he found holes or pipe covers”, the police spokesperson reports.
Weapons and storage jars with cannabis flowers were also seized. The 20-year-old is already in prison on the orders of the Vienna public prosecutor. The investigations were carried out by the Vienna Criminal Investigation Department, Central Department (citizens’ group).
Source: Krone
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