Judicial grotesque in Upper Austria

Gang remains at liberty despite 30 crimes

The gang went on shopping trips with stolen credit cards.

(Bild: Dusan Petkovic - stock.adobe.com)

The three young offenders - who had long since been convicted - once again committed numerous serious crimes after only a very short time in custody. The trial against the gang will now take place in Linz Provincial Court in March.

The list of their offenses is quite long. The Linz public prosecutor's office accuses the gang of over 130 crimes - committed in half of Austria.

A Syrian, an Austrian (both 21) and a 15-year-old Chechen - all of whom have previous convictions for property crimes - are alleged to have broken into numerous cars and stores or stolen handbags and stolen credit and ATM cards within just two months, in April and May 2024. They then used these cards to "gamble" in gambling parlors or go on shopping trips for amounts under 50 euros - for which no code entry is required.

And then they found a new criminal field of activity
The perpetrators were therefore remanded in custody in June 2024, but were released after just 44 days.

The perpetrators offered this car - which was admittedly not in their possession - for sale on the internet at bargain prices.

(Bild: Prewein Martina)

Subsequently, they specialized in a new criminal field of activity: by presenting a driving license stolen from a Lower Austrian, they offered cars - admittedly not in their possession - at bargain prices on an internet platform. And demanded advance payments for the vehicles from potential customers. To accounts that they could simply open at a local bank and, after receiving several transfers and subsequent withdrawals, close again.

It took weeks before police officers from almost every federal state were able to match the complaints of dozens of victims to the gang in question. In the meantime, the 50-year-old man whose document had been used to commit the fraud was experiencing a real nightmare.

Strangely enough, despite their new crimes, the perpetrators remained at large.

Philipp Springer, der Anwalt eines Opfers

Bild: Klemens Groh

Victims investigated the "false perpetrator"
Victims found out his telephone number, called him, insulted him; once a man even stood outside his apartment door and demanded money back from him ...

"Despite these facts," says Philipp Springer, a victim's lawyer, "the gang strangely remained at large." And: their internet scams were ultimately not charged. Because their "old" crimes were more serious and the new ones would not increase their sentences.

The trial against the three perpetrators is scheduled for March 20. It seems uncertain whether they will appear at the trial. If convicted, the two 21-year-olds face up to five years in prison and the 15-year-old faces two and a half years.