Stuttgart (dpa / lsw) - Although thieves struck construction sites in Baden-Württemberg less frequently last year, they made bigger loot than in 2020. According to the Ministry of the Interior, 1978 cases were recorded - a decrease of 6.6 percent. The damage, on the other hand, increased sharply - by more than a quarter (25.9 percent) to more than 8.9 million euros. And only twelve percent of the cases were cleared up. Desired above all: cables and tools, drill drivers, circular saws, angle grinders and batteries.
Nationwide, the Federal Criminal Police Office counted 22,773 successful or attempted thefts in unoccupied new buildings, shells or on construction sites last year (2020: 24,128). Only a fraction (12.2 percent) has been cleared up so far. In most cases, the perpetrators and the loot have disappeared without a trace. According to the experience of the police, the stolen goods are either stolen to order, quickly converted into hard cash or used personally, but the machines also end up on the market as stolen goods.
As of Thursday, three men will also have to answer before the Stuttgart district court for repeated theft on construction sites. They are said to have stolen and sold machines and materials during raids on large construction sites between September and December last year. According to the indictment, a woman was behind the wheel of the vehicle and helped transport the stolen goods to a scrap dealer. A security guard also has to answer for himself: the man from the security service is said to have turned a blind eye in one case.
