Large series of burglaries on tool companies: Romanian gang caught!

Large series of burglaries on tool companies: Romanian gang caught!

Authorities in Austria and Romania recently made several arrests in a large-scale investigation against a Romanian group of perpetrators. Between September 2024 and January 2025, there were at least twelve break-ins at companies that produce precision tools made of hard metals, especially tungsten carbide. The affected federal states include Lower Austria, Upper Austria, Styria, Carinthia, Salzburg and Tyrol. The break-in method used was cutting open sheet metal roofs or sheet metal facades with angle grinders, which indicates a sophisticated approach, as 5min.at reports.

The investigation was carried out by the State Criminal Police Office of Upper Austria (LKA OÖ) and took place in close cooperation with international police authorities such as Europol as well as the police and investigative authorities in Germany, France and the Czech Republic. The perpetrators are believed to have originated in the Galati region of Romania, near the Moldovan border. On January 18, 2025, a group of six people were arrested in Sierning, Upper Austria.

Coordinated actions and arrests

The proven break-ins extended across Tyrol, Upper Austria and Styria. The Innsbruck public prosecutor's office issues European arrest warrants against five accomplices. In a further investigation, a coordinated police operation in Romania resulted in two house searches near Galati on June 17, 2025, during which three suspects were arrested and valuable items were seized. The age group of the perpetrators ranges from 20 to 53 years old, and all those arrested are Romanian citizens, investigators have determined.

In addition, further burglaries were recently uncovered during an investigation in Lower Austria, in which a group of Romanian citizens were arrested. This group is suspected of having been active in Vienna and Lower Austria between mid-April and early May and of having caused a total of 250,000 euros in damage, as Kurier reports.

International cooperation and support

The extensive international cooperation is promoted by the oldest multilateral cooperation framework for cross-border police cooperation, Interpol. Interpol enables the exchange of information between the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA) in Germany and international partners and supports the search for perpetrators and stolen items. Interpol's headquarters are in Lyon, France, and the organization provides resources to strengthen cooperation between the various national police authorities. This is also supported by the EU Commission-funded “@ON network”, which is led by the Italian Antimafia Investigation Directorate, as reported by [BKA](https://www.bka.de/DE/ UnserAufgabe/Aufgabebereich/Internationalefunktion/IKPO/ikpo_node.html).

The investigations testify to the complexity and international dimension of the crime, in which those arrested apparently organized themselves and offered the stolen tools and construction equipment on the black market. This scam brought them significant financial gain, which underlines the estimated loot value of over one million euros.