Stolen goods for money

DIY store gang cashes in with exchange trick

The quintet went to several DIY stores

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

Five shoplifters turned stolen goods back into cash in Krems, Lower Austria. They struck at various DIY stores and later exchanged the stolen goods for cash. The handcuffs clicked on the highway.

Five men were regular customers in Lower Austrian branches of a DIY chain - but in a different way than the company would have liked. The quintet helped themselves without paying.

They were mainly after lock cylinders and motion detectors, which they stole in batches. However, the items were of no use to the thieves. On the contrary: their intention was to turn the goods back into money. To do this, they took advantage of the customer-friendly service of being able to return private labels without an invoice. In Krems, they returned a large part of the loot for exchange and collected a four-figure sum in cash.

Between 25 and 35 years old
However, the cheeky act still attracted attention. The German license plate number of the getaway vehicle was sent to the police and the car was finally stopped on the A1 at the Steinhäusl junction. The Romanians, aged between 25 and 35, were provisionally arrested. Further investigations are underway.