A 58-year-old man is said to have stolen large quantities of merchandising items on the BMW factory premises in Munich, where he worked as a caretaker and cleaner, and hoarded them in his home in Augsburg. He stole so many items that parts of his house were in danger of collapsing. Then cigarette thefts were apparently his undoing: an employee of a security service reported thefts from several cigarette machines on the factory premises to the police. He had already reported the crimes in March 2022, but the incident only became known now.

The employee of the security service had initially carried out investigations himself and was able to observe a suspicious act with the help of video recordings. Accordingly, a suspect with a coat was seen, which was later found in an employee's locker. Finally, the police suspected that the suspected company employee could also be responsible for other thefts on the factory premises. This was announced by the Munich police in a press release this week. The 58-year-old was arrested at his place of work in the same month. Police found several of the company's merchandise in his backpack.

The investigators then searched his house in Augsburg. Large amounts of stolen items were secured, it is said. According to this, clothing, umbrellas, mugs, cups, backpacks, suitcases and model cars were stored there, as reported by the "Abendzeitung München". However, due to the heavy weight of the stolen goods and junk, the house had structural defects. Some of it was in danger of collapsing, which is why the search was "aborted for security reasons". Conditions were imposed on the 58-year-old suspect to ensure the stability of the building. In addition, he had to provide a statics report. The police had to order a truck to transport the stolen goods away.

At the end of November, the man was placed in a specialist clinic because of dangerous behavior. His employment has since ended. The value of the stolen cigarettes and other items is estimated at several thousand euros.

Sources: Munich police, Munich evening newspaper