Status: 04.03.2023 12:35 p.m
After the spectacular robbery of a money transport in Western Pomerania, the thieves of millions are still on the run. But the police are getting tips. Experts speak of a “highly professional execution of the crime”. The perpetrators apparently feigned a construction site days beforehand.
In the search for the perpetrators of the spectacular attack on a money transporter with a loot of millions on the A20 near Gützkow, the perpetrators are still on the run. As a police spokeswoman said on Saturday in Neubrandenburg, further information is currently being received. So far there has not been an arrest. “We take the information and pass it on to the criminal police, who include it in their investigations,” the spokeswoman continued. The search for the armed men had already been extended to the entire federal territory.
Procedure speaks for organized crime
According to the police, the long preparations for the crime and the procedure itself speak for organized crime. The police recently hoped increasingly for testimonies. The investigators could play into the hands of the fact that the perpetrators apparently set up a fake construction site with signs and concrete blocks days before the robbery at the scene of the crime – a freeway access to the A20 near Gützkow. This served to stop the money transporter and prevent the car from escaping.
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Road maintenance cleared away concrete blocks
Spicy: According to the police, the road maintenance department had meanwhile removed the concrete blocks that had been set up days earlier. The perpetrators must have rebuilt the fictitious construction site before the crime. They had apparently brought the signs for the staged construction site to the scene of the crime days before the robbery.
A spokesman for the northeast branch of Autobahn GmbH des Bundes said that during a route inspection on Monday, the signs were discovered by employees at the Gützkow exit on the hard shoulder, where they were leaning against the crash barrier. After inquiries internally and with construction companies were negative, it was decided to clear away the signs at the next regular garbage collection campaign on Thursday morning. The robbery of the money transporter then happened on Thursday morning.
Dash cam and trail camera recordings may also be helpful
Police are asking for the help of any witnesses. She asks: Since February 24, has anyone seen anyone putting up signs or cinder blocks at the crime scene? Information on conspicuous or parked cars or other relevant information on the wrong construction site are also of interest.
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Recordings from cameras such as dash cams installed in cars of passers-by could also be relevant for further investigations. Likewise, recordings from wildlife cameras that have been in operation in the area of the forest near Müssentin near Jarmen in the past few days could provide clues. The escape vehicle of the perpetrators was found burned out in the wooded area on Thursday after the attack.
Several million euros stolen
Two masked men had previously – according to the latest information, firing shots – attacked and robbed the money transporter in a driveway on the A20. According to the police, the robbers stole several million euros. Even if precise information is still missing, it is likely to be the largest sum that fell into the hands of criminals in a robbery in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania.
getaway vehicles exchanged
According to the police, the crime had been planned in detail. After the spectacular attack, the perpetrators fled in a Mercedes van. This getaway vehicle was found hours later in the woods near Müssentin, a few kilometers away. Police officers also found emptied and burned-out cash boxes near the wreck. There was a high probability that another getaway vehicle was waiting there, according to police spokeswoman Claudia Tupeit. The police assume three perpetrators. The money transporter was apparently on the way to the Deutsche Bundesbank branch in Neubrandenburg.
What did the perpetrators know?
After the find in the forest near Müssentin, it was no longer clear which vehicle the robbers were using, according to the police. According to their own statements, the police have shut down their initially large-scale search with controls in all potential escape directions of the perpetrators. However, random checks will continue to be carried out. Among other things, it is now being checked how the robbers knew that so much money was being transported in the vehicle and which route it was taking.
Expert: “Highly professional execution of the crime”
Uwe Wendorf from the Federal Association of German money and value service providers spoke on NDR MV Live of a “highly professional execution of the crime”. Apparently, the raid had been prepared for a long time. The industry is not immune to something like this – despite all the safety precautions. “It’s a new quality.” The crucial question is “whether it was insider knowledge that led to this act, or whether it really was a meticulous observation of the company’s course of action.”
The clearance rate is “towards 100 percent”
Experts told the NDR that experience has shown that employees of the companies concerned are involved in 90 percent of such raids – be it because they carelessly shared knowledge, that they were put under pressure or that they were directly involved in the raid. Wendorf did not want to confirm this information.
“Of course there is a risk.” But the employees are meticulously selected, there are security checks and their financial background is examined. According to Wendorf, the clearance rate for such crimes is close to 100 percent. “Of course everyone knows that. Nevertheless, it is tried again and again because it is so lucrative.” Insurers would usually pay for the damage.
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