Tübingen (dpa / lsw) - A gang of thieves is said to have removed catalytic converters from parked cars in five places between Lake Constance and Tübingen. At the weekend, the three alleged perpetrators were caught red-handed thanks to a witness in the university town. The men, aged 22, 28 and 31, are now in custody and are being investigated on suspicion of serious gang theft, the Tübingen public prosecutor and Reutlingen police headquarters said on Monday.
The investigators assume that the three men are responsible for similar acts in the past few weeks in Gammertingen (Sigmaringen district), Uhldingen-Mühlhofen (Bodensee district), Singen and Rottweil. They are said to be targeting catalytic converters of the same Japanese make in all thefts.
A local resident in Tübingen became aware of them early on Sunday morning because they made a noise while dismantling. He alerted the police, who arrested the men at the scene of the crime.
