260,000 euros stolen

Family on a thieving spree: gang struck 33 times

The thieves stalked the company premises unnoticed via farmland.(Bild: LKA NÖ)

They struck 33 times: the burglaries caused a total loss of around 318,000 euros. They have now been caught by the police. They are a Serbian family clan that has been very active in Lower Austria since March 2023.  

It all started with several company burglaries in the district of Tulln. The perpetrators secretly and quietly gained access to the company premises via adjacent farmland, forcibly broke open windows and doors and stole high-priced tools.

In the course of extensive investigations by the Lower Austrian Criminal Police Office, two Serbian groups of perpetrators were identified. The officers then lay in wait until the trap was sprung on the night of April 6. When the criminals entered Austria again, the investigators were hot on the heels of the thieves. Until three of them were finally caught in the act.

The handcuffs clicked for the trio - father, brother and son - when they broke into a garage and adjoining workshop in Grafenberg in the Horn district. 

The trio forced their way into the company premises through windows and doors.(Bild: LKA NÖ)

(Bild: LKA NÖ)

Gang also active in Germany
The burglary tools such as crowbars and bolt cutters as well as stolen stolen goods were seized in the Serbs' vehicle. The men, aged 16, 25 and 39, were arrested and taken to Korneuburg prison. The gang is also believed to be responsible for numerous crimes in Germany.

In Lower Austria, they struck ten times in the district of Gänserndorf, nine times in the district of Mistelbach and also in the districts of Tulln, Horn, Bruck an der Leitha, Mödling and St. Pölten. The trio confessed to the burglaries. On their theft spree, they stole tools worth 262,000 euros.