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From /apa, April 30, 2024, 2:29 p.m
Image: (APA/LPD VIENNA)
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Image: (APA/LPD VIENNA)
VIENNA/ACHAU/LINZ. The police have solved a series of 350 car break-ins by 24 young people in Vienna. The youth gang is also believed to be responsible for 20 taxi burglaries in Linz.
This was announced by the deputy head of the West branch of the State Criminal Police Office (LKA), Martin Bencza, on Tuesday together with the lead investigator Reinhard Bruckner. The gang is also responsible for breaking into machines and businesses, thefts and damage to property. A total of 500 offenses with a loss of 300,000 euros came together.
Image: (APA/LPD VIENNA)
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Image: (APA/LPD VIENNA)
According to the Bencza, the 24 suspects between the ages of twelve and 17 are primarily people with foreign citizenship. “They come from Syria, Afghanistan, Chechnya, Serbia, Slovakia and Tunisia,” he said. “Of the eight Austrian citizens, the majority of the suspects also have a migration background,” explained the deputy head of the LKA field office. Six suspects are underage, i.e. not yet 14 years old. These in particular caused problems for the police. “They are confessed, but absolutely unreasonable,” said Bencza. “We can arrest or stop them. They are then briefly questioned and handed over to their parents or, in most cases, to the youth facilities,” said the criminalist. New crimes would then occur regularly.
Active since last fall
The loosely organized group had been active throughout Vienna since last fall. The investigation began in mid-January following a break-in at a cell phone shop in Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus. “The perpetrators smashed the display window with a stone,” said Bruckner. “The same store was broken into once more two weeks later, in the same manner.” After viewing video recordings, investigators determined that they must have been juveniles. Cell phone evaluations led to the identification of two teenagers and an underage youth as suspects. “They confessed to having committed numerous crimes and also named their accomplices, who were subsequently questioned,” said Bruckner. Further video recordings from gas stations, underground car parks and near cigarette machines confirmed the suspicion and gave the police a new lead. “That’s when it became clear for the first time that the group was suspected of having committed taxi burglaries,” said Bruckner.
Also read: How criminal are our youth really? (OÖNplus)
During the course of the investigation, the police caught the young people red-handed breaking into taxis seven times. The last time this happened was on Monday, “where two minors broke into twelve taxis during the night and cleared them out,” said Bruckner.
According to him, the crimes usually followed a specific pattern. “The accused met somewhere outdoors in parks and said: ‘Go do a TX (note: taxi license plate)’.” They would then always be on the lookout for vehicles with the taxi abbreviation on the license plate. After breaking the windows – usually with an emergency hammer – valuables such as cell phones, cash, perfumes or charging cables were stolen.
In addition, 19 vehicles were also stolen. “17 of them were used until they were a total loss.”
In the stolen car at 180 km/h on the highway
In another case early last Thursday, a 14-year-old drove a stolen car in the Mödling district of Lower Austria on the highway at 180 kilometers per hour, tried to push away a patrol car and was stopped near Achau following a police chase. A taxi driver was able to follow the entire chase on a tracking app thanks to a GPS tracker in his headphones. His headphones had been stolen from his vehicle the night before when the youths broke into around 20 taxis.
A fight at Reumannplatz in Vienna-Favoriten is also related to the gang. “A 13-year-old stabbed another teenager in the thigh with a knife.”
More on the topic: 14 months in Spain for 79,982 euros for problem child from Upper Austria (OÖNplus)
Bruckner also mentioned an incident at a motorway bridge on the southeast bypass (A23). From there, the young people abroad threw worried firecrackers at moving cars. However, accidents might have been avoided.
Series of taxi break-ins in Linz
A 20-fold series of taxi break-ins in Linz by a 13-year-old may also be connected to the youth gang. “The girl had only been in Linz for a short time, had previously lived in Vienna and learned how to break into taxis with this group,” said Bruckner.
Five suspects are already in custody. The relevant court proceedings are still pending.
The two criminalists called on the public on Tuesday to never leave their vehicle keys or valuables in parked vehicles – “not even the coins,” as Bruckner said. “If this group sees ten euros in the vehicle, they break the windows and steal the items.”
