Police arrest four in €100,000 Oktoberfest theft case

Four French men are in pre-trial detention after police linked them to a pickpocketing operation at Munich’s Oktoberfest, BR reported. Investigators found mobile phones, clothing, electronics and jewellery worth about €100,000 in a hotel room used by the suspects.

A US visitor at the festival noticed last Friday that his phone had been switched for a worthless dummy. The stolen phone was then used to buy goods worth €23,000. The visitor reported the theft to police, who traced one purchase to a shop.

Investigators obtained an image of a suspect from the shop’s surveillance cameras and circulated it within the police. That evening, Romanian and Portuguese pickpocket investigators recognised the man at the festival. The 29-year-old and a 31-year-old companion, both from France, were arrested.

Further inquiries led police to the hotel where the two men were staying. During a search of their room, officers found two more French men, aged 27 and 34, and the items worth about €100,000. Some of the goods had been bought using the American visitor’s phone. All four men were remanded in custody.