46 cases uncovered

Gang stole e-bikes and sold them in Croatia

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

A Croatian gang from Linz was after high-priced e-bikes. They stole the bikes, took them back to their home country and sold them there. The youngest member of the criminal organization is just 16 years old. Four suspects are now in prison.

After extensive investigations by the Schärding police station in cooperation with the Upper Austrian State Criminal Police Office and the Linz City Police Command, eight Croatian suspects have been identified. As part of a criminal organization in Upper Austria and Lower Austria, they are alleged to have stolen a total of 46 bicycles, primarily high-priced e-bikes, in burglaries from cellar compartments, apartment buildings and underground car parks between spring 2024 and September 2024.

Brought to Croatia
The stolen bicycles were smuggled from Austria to Croatia in the Osijek area immediately after the burglaries. There, the bicycles were sold on to fences at so-called "package prices".

Witness started the investigation
The investigation was triggered by a suspicious observation by an attentive witness after a burglary in Brunnenthal at the beginning of August, in which seven bicycles were stolen from an apartment building. Based on the tip-off, the investigation led to a 31-year-old Croatian from Linz. In the past, he had worked for a delivery company, which is why he often discovered high-priced bicycles in the course of his work, which were then stolen by the group of offenders.

16-year-old son as accomplice
A 32-year-old woman, a 36-year-old man, a 23-year-old man, a 47-year-old man and his 16-year-old son as well as a 41-year-old man and a 24-year-old man (all Croatian citizens from Linz) were identified as accomplices.
Four high-priced e-bikes, which had previously been stolen in burglaries in central Upper Austria, were recovered on September 11. The 36-year-old was arrested in Linz on September 19 on the basis of an arrest warrant issued by the public prosecutor's office in Ried.

41 criminal acts
As a result of the investigations, 41 criminal acts (nine thefts and 32 burglaries) were cleared up. In the process, 46 high-priced bicycles were stolen. The 47-year-old, the 24-year-old and the 32-year-old are in custody in Linz prison. The remaining suspects have all been released.