A group of ten suspects is said to have robbed Bundeswehr facilities and stolen weapons. According to the public prosecutor, four of them are active soldiers, two are already in custody. It is unclear whether the equipment was intended for the war in Ukraine.
After extensive investigations into burglaries and possible thefts of weapons from the Bundeswehr, a judge issued arrest warrants against two people arrested. The public prosecutor’s office in Kiel announced that a total of ten suspects – including four on active duty in the Bundeswehr – were being investigated on suspicion of gang theft. Weapons were found during a search of a residential building in Itzehoe, Schleswig-Holstein, on Sunday. It is not yet known what the suspects – including four on active duty in the Bundeswehr – intended to do with the weapons. There are indications that several soldiers in Ukraine wanted to join the defense against the Russian attackers.
The accused are accused of having repeatedly broken into Bundeswehr facilities since the beginning of this year, with varying involvement, in order to steal equipment for themselves or third parties or to have provided assistance, the statement said. “After the suspects could be identified and the commission of a further offense was in the room, two suspects were arrested by the state police in Eckernförde in the night of May 22nd to 23rd, 2022 and, at the request of the Kiel public prosecutor’s office, brought before the magistrate.” , said the prosecutor.
Accordingly, he ordered pre-trial detention and issued search warrants for eight properties in Baden-Württemberg, Bremen, Lower Saxony, North Rhine-Westphalia and Schleswig-Holstein. Extensive evidence was secured, which is currently still being viewed and evaluated. In Itzehoe, several long and short guns, ammunition and explosive substances were found, which is why the building there had to be evacuated and the explosive ordnance clearance service was called in. “The seized weapons, ammunition and explosives are currently being examined by the Schleswig-Holstein State Criminal Police Office and their origin is being determined as far as possible,” said the public prosecutor.
Among the accused is a member of the 31st Parachute Regiment from Seedorf in Lower Saxony. A suspicion of other soldiers in the army and navy is being examined. The authorities did not comment on the motive for the crime.
