Successful manhunt

Three criminal tourists from Romania arrested

The criminals were taken off the road at the Hörbranz rest stop.

(Bild: Picture-Factory/stock.adobe.com)

On Tuesday morning, three Romanians tried to break into a house in Hörbranz (Vorarlberg) - but were caught by a resident, whereupon the trio fled. In the end, however, the burglars were caught by the police.

The fact that the police were able to track them down so quickly was mainly thanks to attentive neighbors who were suspicious of the Romanians' vehicle. From the license plate fragments, the police were subsequently able to deduce the specific vehicle used in the crime, whereupon a corresponding manhunt was initiated.

The perpetrators were caught the next day: a police patrol on the Rhine Valley highway noticed the wanted car, and the suspects were finally stopped at the Hörbranz highway service station.

Large amounts of jewelry and cash
In addition to the three Romanians, aged 19, 23 and 24, there was also a 32-year-old Romanian woman in the car. The police subsequently seized a considerable amount of cash and jewelry. Some of the loot has already been attributed to a burglary in Lustenau that was also committed on Monday.

Due to the overwhelming burden of proof, the Feldkirch public prosecutor's office immediately issued an arrest warrant for the three men. In the course of the investigations, the three suspects confessed at least in part - whether they have other crimes to their credit is currently being investigated. The 19- and 24-year-old Romanian were taken to Feldkirch prison on Thursday evening, their 23-year-old accomplice on Friday morning.