German and Bulgarian authorities have rolled up a criminal group that was involved in the large-scale theft of power cables across Germany. The disappearance of the cables caused major disruptions to large public construction sites. During a joint operation coordinated by Eurojust and Europol, eight suspects were arrested.
The criminal group consisting mostly of Bulgarian nationals, set up a large-scale operation to steal power cables in three states in Germany, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Hesse and Saarland. After stealing the power cables, the group sold them for substantial profits. Afterwards, the proceeds were then transferred to Bulgaria.
Through investigations, the authorities were able to link 45 individual cases of power cable theft to the criminal group. The total value of the stolen cables is around 1 million euros.
After German authorities discovered that the criminal group behind the theft was partly residing in Bulgaria and was moving their profits to Bulgaria, cooperation between the authorities was set up at Eurojust. The authorities worked together to plan the joint operation to arrest the suspects and stop the thefts. Europol supported the action day by deploying an expert with a mobile office to Bulgaria. Leading up to this, Europol organised an operational meeting, provided operational analysis and supported the cross-border surveillance with a virtual command post.
In the early hours of 17 December, authorities in Bulgaria and Germany took action with nearly 200 officers, investigators and prosecutors deployed. The operation was coordinated from Eurojust’s headquarters in The Hague. Twenty-four house searches, nine personal searches and six car searches took place in Bulgaria. During the searches, authorities were able to seize items such as telephones and document that will now be used to continue investigations into the group. Eight suspects were arrested, five in Bulgaria and three in Germany.
The following authorities were involved in the actions:
Germany: Public Prosecution Office Heilbronn; Heilbronn Police
Bulgaria: Public Prosecution Offices Varna and Shumen; Investigative Department to the Sofia City PO and the Regional Directorate of the Ministry of Home Affairs-Varna
