Drug thieves in Cham: Georgian duo loots drugstores in their sights!

Drug thieves in Cham: Georgian duo loots drugstores in their sights!

In the last few days, several spectacular criminal cases have occurred in Bavaria that have aroused public interest. In the Cham district in particular, a duo that looted drugstores in Furth im Wald and Bad Kötzting was linked to a larger Georgian gang of thieves. According to Mittelbayerische, this happened at the beginning of June when the two suspected thieves, Georgian citizens aged 20 and 30, stole high-quality cosmetics and care products worth several thousand euros stolen.

The perpetrators worked together using a clever trick: while one packed the goods into a bag, the other kept watch. In order not to immediately attract attention, one of them paid a small amount at the checkout with a Georgian credit card to attract more attention. Nevertheless, the police were able to intervene quickly after video recordings and credit card evaluations revealed the identity of the suspects. A rental car company whose vehicle was rented from a gas station in Amberg played an important role in catching the perpetrators. On June 17, the vehicle was found outside a hotel in Fürth and police arrested the two men as they tried to get in. A day later, arrest warrants were issued against them and the perpetrators have been in Bavarian correctional facilities ever since.

Organized crime in focus

The events in Cham are part of a larger wave of arrests in connection with a Georgian gang of stolen goods. She was recently arrested by the police in a large contingent, as Stern stated. Raids took place in several cities, including Baden-Württemberg, Hamburg and Berlin, in which a total of twelve people were arrested on suspicion of receiving stolen goods and transporting them to Italy and Georgia.

Almost 200 officers were deployed as part of this nationwide investigation. The “Hermes” investigative group tracked down a total of 21 suspects, with the main suspect being a 54-year-old Georgian who worked as a subcontractor for the Georgian postal service. Interestingly, the structures of this Crimean organization were used not only for illegal goods, but also for legal transport. This suggests that the organized crime ring is extremely flexible in its methods.

A big problem in Germany

The situation in Germany is alarming. According to Statista, investigations into organized crime (OC) have been steadily increasing. 642 cases involve gang theft, drug trafficking and even cybercrime, which cause significant financial damage. In 2023, 41 percent of cases will be related to drug-related offenses. The Georgian perpetrators therefore fit into an overall picture in which criminal groups from different nationalities are becoming increasingly active.

The open questions remain: How efficiently can the investigative authorities respond to this threat and how can they prevent future crimes? One thing is certain: crime has many faces and it will be necessary to work even more intensively on prevention.