Police identify 40 hooligan suspects after motorway robbery

Styrian police have identified 40 suspects after a robbery on the A9 motorway in November 2025, ORF reported. Twenty-four people have been arrested in connection with the case.

The suspects are accused of stopping a car carrying two Croatian nationals on the Pyhrn motorway and robbing them. The vehicle was damaged with baseball bats, the two occupants were injured and several thousand euros in cash were stolen.

The incident triggered a major police operation overnight on November 7, 2025, on the A9 near Premstätten and the A2 near Arnwiesen. The group was described as apparently radical supporters of a Polish football club. Police initially arrested 20 suspects.

With the help of liaison officers in Poland, investigators identified another 20 people. Four of them were arrested in Poland under European arrest warrants and transferred to Austria last week.

Eight of the 24 people arrested were sentenced at first instance in June 2026 to prison terms of up to several years. The operation also received extensive coverage in Polish media.