After he and his son Laurenz discovered on Tuesday that their antique shop in Graz-Gries had been broken into perfidiously, Erhard Szabo is still shocked: “I don’t understand it at all. That happens at the bank or at the jeweler, but not here with us!”
There is no sign of a break-in in the front section of the antique shop. But when you climb the two steps to the second room, there is suddenly a huge hole in the floor. Splintered wood is scattered around, brick dust is in the air and broken tiles crunch under your shoes.
“Normally you break into a jeweler or a bank, but not a flea market.” Entrepreneur Erhard Szabo still can’t believe it. His antique shop on Josef-Huber-Gasse in Graz was the target of a spectacular coup between Saturday afternoon and Tuesday afternoon.
“When we saw the hole, we were speechless!”
On Tuesday, he unexpectedly went into business with his son Laurenz. “I usually don’t open until Wednesday afternoon, but we had an appointment with an auction house.” The 61-year-old initially thought something had fallen over his back. “Then I saw the hole. It’s unbelievable.” Even the junior manager couldn’t believe it at first: “I was just speechless.”
The perpetrators were looking for daggers and medals
The unknown perpetrators entered the apartment building through the basement. “From there, they apparently used hydraulic tools to get through the wooden structure, concrete ceiling and tile floor in the ground floor antique shop from below,” said Markus Lamb, spokesman for the Styrian Police.
Erhard Szabo’s shop specializes in historical objects from the First and Second World War. The burglars were mainly after daggers and medals. The extent of the damage is significant and should be in the six-figure range by early estimates. However, the antique dealer must first determine the exact size.
Crime scene was explored in advance
There are many indications of an organized approach – and that the crime scene was spied on. “The hole is right in the middle of the room,” Laurenz says. Since father suspects an assignment by order. But he’s not sure the crooks really knew what they were looking for.
And even when Erhard Szabo tries to see this cinematic intrusion with humor, he noticeably hits him. The 61-year-old, who is 70 percent incapacitated for work due to a serious illness, has turned his hobby into a profession with his small business. “I couldn’t find a job anymore. But I really wanted to work,” he says.
And because he already liked collecting as a child, the step to independence was clear relatively quickly. “Although I used to be laughed at for it.” Now his success proves him right. Many well-known auction houses are now working together with the Styrian, which mainly works at special fairs.
Criminals with dirty clothes
According to the police, it can be assumed that several perpetrators were at work in the so-called Rififi burglary (particularly sophisticated). Due to the brutal nature of the criminals, the clothes must have been very dirty. This could not be secured. “If anyone sees such work clothes, they should contact us,” said police spokesman Markus Lamb.
Call 059133/60-3333 and any police station for information.
However, Erhard Szabo does not believe the matter will be raised again: “They are probably already abroad.”
Source: Krone
I am Ida Scott, a journalist and content author with a passion for uncovering the truth. I have been writing professionally for Today Times Live since 2020 and specialize in political news. My career began when I was just 17; I had already developed a knack for research and an eye for detail which made me stand out from my peers.
