Last Wednesday, March 4, two citizens of Georgia were brought to the investigative judge in Kranj on suspicion of several burglaries in the area of Škofja Loka. The suspects were recognised and apprehended earlier on Monday by the officers of the Police Directorate Maribor, who handed them over to their colleagues in Kranj. The police also confiscated a significant number of stolen items (see in the pictures below).
The burglars used threads to learn whether people were at home or not. About 250 apartments in five buildings were found out to be equipped with such threads. A very clear video of the perpetrators at work was posted on Police Directorate Kranj’s Facebook site, but it has already been taken down following the arrests.
The police investigation will now look into links with similar burglaries across Slovenia and other EU member states.
"The arrested Georgian citizens are most likely members of a bigger organised criminal group, engaged in property crimes throughout the European Union. We can say that this is most likely a minor tentacle in the overall structure of the group," explained Benjamin Franca of the Criminal Police Directorate. This is the second group of Georgian burglars that have been arrested by Slovenian police this month.
On February 25, police apprehended a citizen of Georgia and confiscated his burglary tools. He was detained, and after further information was collected the police found out that he had just committed a burglary at an apartment in Celje. Later in the same day, two other Georgian citizens were arrested in connection with the suspected burglary. All three were taken to an investigating judge who ordered one of the three to be placed in custody. This group was already active in the area monitored by the Celje Police Directorate in August 2019, when two burglaries were carried out.
Benjamin Franca from the Criminal Police Administration stated that "the police are constantly detecting the presence of the so-called mobile crime groups committing property crimes,". Some of the burglaries are attributed specifically to groups from abroad that are very well organised. In Slovenia members of criminal groups, who come mainly from Eastern European countries and the Central Balkans, are committing property crimes such as theft, burglary, highway burglary, and ATM attacks.
The main target countries of these groups’ operations are Western and Northern European countries, where the standard of living is higher, and thus there is more to steal. Criminal groups in a certain area commit as many crimes as possible and leave the country as soon as possible. They continue to carry out their actions in another country and so on.
For more pictures of confiscated stolen goods visit policija.si. Possible owners should call police station at Škofja Loka (04) 502 37 00 and make an appointment. Proofs of ownership should be brought with you.
