Garbage bags & medicines

Vending machine burglars leave a trail of devastation

The police are on the trail of the perpetrators.(Bild: Uta Rojsek-Wiedergut)

Unknown criminals used brute force in the industrial district, causing enormous material damage. Even a vending machine that had been installed just hours before became a target for the criminals.

"These perpetrators must have been passing through. They used brute force and were gone as quickly as possible," says Ernst Wendl, mayor of Himberg in the district of Bruck an der Leitha. A total of three completely different vending machines were broken into by the strangers within one night.

First, they forced open the Schwechat waste association's bin bag machine, which is located directly at the entrance to the municipal office. The perpetrators took around 370 euros in cash from it, but the material damage is significantly higher. "This machine alone is worth several thousand euros. It was completely damaged," explains Wendl.

Little cash due to medication
Of course, the criminals were less interested in the contents themselves, just as they were in a vending machine at a pharmacy that was stocked with over-the-counter medication. They also only took the cash from it. "Most of the money there is paid for by card," says the head of the village, adding that the haul was extremely small.

The last crime scene proves that the perpetrators were certainly unfamiliar with the area. The drinks machine in front of the tobacconist had only been put into operation a few hours earlier, so the till was still empty. The property damage here is also enormous. "I hope that the perpetrators can be tracked down and brought to justice," says the mayor.