Luebeck
Drivers overwhelmed and disarmed – police are looking for a robbery on cash transporters across northern Germany
The police are on a large scale operation after a robbery on a money transporter in Lübeck (symbol image)
© Carsten Rehder / DPA
Another armored car robbery, this time in Lübeck. The unknown perpetrators were able to escape with at least 100,000 euros in loot, and the search for them is in full swing in northern Germany.
The police are looking throughout northern Germany for a trio who attacked a money transporter in Lübeck, Schleswig-Holstein, on Wednesday afternoon.
According to the investigators, the act happened around 11:34 a.m. in an industrial area on the southwestern city limits. The perpetrators apparently ambushed the money transporter at the headquarters of the Junge bakery chain and struck while clearing a safe. “The driver of the money transport was overpowered with physical violence and his revolver was taken from him. But he was unharmed,” the “Lübecker Nachrichten” quoted a police spokesman as saying. The police did not provide any further information about the course of the crime.
Value of the loot in the Lübeck money transporter robbery in six figures
The three perpetrators then drove away with their six-figure loot in a white Ford van. This was discovered in the afternoon near the scene of the crime. The suspects are said to have continued their escape in a Citroën van from Avis car rental in an unknown direction, according to investigators.
The police secured the alleged getaway vehicle of the trio near the scene of the crime
© Volker Gerstmann / TNN / DPA
The search for them is “at full speed” and “in all directions”. A “massive contingent” is in action, said a police spokesman for the DPA news agency. The trio is also being sought in the neighboring federal states of Hamburg, Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania and Lower Saxony. Drones and helicopters are in use. On-site in the Lübeck industrial park, forensic officers got to work.
A description of the wanted person was initially not available, according to reports, they were masked during the robbery. The police warned against approaching suspects – the perpetrators should be armed. “If you observe suspicious people, contact the police immediately via the police emergency number 110.”
In the recent past, robberies on money transporters have repeatedly caused a stir throughout Germany, for example a spectacular act with alleged loot of millions on an access road to the A20 motorway in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania at the beginning of March. In January, shots were fired and two people injured when a money transporter was robbed in Saarland.
Sources: Police Headquarters Lübeck (1), Police Headquarters Lübeck (2), “Lübecker News”news agency DPA and AFP