“Had a deterrent effect” • The police: It concerns a foreign thief
From the end of May to the middle of July, the Stockholm police received several reports of burglaries using caustic acid. Then it stopped.
It got quite a bit of media coverage, so it’s possible that it had a deterrent effect, says Monica Krüger at the border police.
The total number of burglaries or attempted burglaries where nitric acid was used is currently 52. No one has been arrested or reasonably suspected in the case, but the police say they have a better picture of the situation.
I’d say we have a pretty good idea of who is behind this series. It is a foreign theft gang, says Monica Krüger.
Awaiting analyses
In the investigation, the Stockholm police has cooperated with Europol since it became clear that it was an extensive tour and that the burglary method has been used in several European countries before.
We have a hope that we will at least be able to prosecute some. We have been in daily contact with Europol and they are also taking this very seriously as they see that this is something that affects more countries in Europe. Now we are mainly waiting for analyzes from the technical tracks that have been secured, says Krüger.
Since the weekend of July 13-14, when a series of burglaries took place on Kungsholmen in Stockholm, there have been no new reports of burglaries using acid.
However, burglary attempts have not completely stopped. In the weeks that followed, there were reports of markings in gate ramps. The markings are a form of string between door and doorpost that should indicate whether you are at home or not, where unbroken means that the door has not been opened.
Attention public
We can’t say for sure but it seems that is the method they used to know who has been home or not. Recently, the public has been so vigilant and removed the markings themselves.
Most burglaries have occurred when people have been away for several days. Therefore, Krüger thinks that you should continue to be careful if you are going away during the holidays.
Feel free to ask a neighbor to keep an extra eye for markings or just be generally aware of who is moving in the gate. If you have several locks, it is good to lock them all, she says.
The burglaries have been concentrated in the Stockholm area and the police have not seen that the perpetrators have targeted anything other than apartments. Monica Krüger’s call is to contact the police if you see a marking.