German police arrested three suspects and searched their properties in Dortmund. All three are Bosnian nationals who illegally live in Germany. They allegedly broke into people’s homes, stole the keys of their luxurious cars and then simply drove off with them. The total value of the stolen vehicles was estimated to more than US$1.68 million.
The Europol coordinated operation was made possible by the EU funded project ‘Countering Serious Crime in the Western Balkans – IPA 2019’ and the investigation was conducted within the framework of the European Multidisciplinary Platform Against Criminal Threats (EMPACT).
Europol provided intelligence data and analysis and brought together investigators working on the strategy of dismantling the criminal group. On the action day Europol’s European Serious Organized Crime Center deployed a mobile office to the operational center in Dortmund, thus enabling a direct connection between investigators from Germany, Austria and Bosnia and Herzegovina.
