2013 got off to a good start! One search success followed another - thanks to "Inspector Facebook" (issue 2/2013), a "wide-awake BOOTE reader" (3/2013) and excellent work by public and private investigators. "Good time for explorers?" was the headline in our "Wanted" section (4/2013). But then the tide turned in favour of "hardened thieves" (5/2013): Massive thefts of jet skis in Cologne and serial thefts in Grömitz (18 Z-drives) were just the beginning of a veritable raid by perfectly organised gangs across Germany.
The objects of their desire were not so much complete boats, but mainly outboard motors and drives, which they usually removed from their transoms. Unlike in previous years, when the thieves primarily targeted harbours and jetties, in 2013 they were drawn to the "source": boat and engine dealers. Some of them were hit several times. High time to think about new security concepts and, not least, to review insurance cover. Industry-wide, because every business is a potential target for such crooks.
An outboard motor under blankets and pillows
"Who will stop the Kleptomaniacs?" we asked in BOOTE 12/2013. In addition to prevention, successful investigations are particularly helpful. When brazen thieves fail because of clever detectives with a keen sense of detection, as in the following case: on the night of 22 October 2013, a police patrol near Dillingen (Saarland) stopped a suspicious combination - a car and caravan - at around midnight. The two Eastern European occupants of the towing vehicle, aged 27 and 22, were unable to produce their driving licences - they were supposedly at home.
When the officers check the car and load more closely, they discover an almost new Suzuki DF50 outboard motor worth around 7,000 euros under the blankets and cushions. Among other suspicious features, they noticed that the engine number had been tampered with. When questioned by the police, the two Eastern Europeans claim to have bought the engine as "scrap metal in Holland".
Dismantled from the fire brigade's rescue boat
Together with specialists from the Dillingen water police and the Competence Centre for Boat Crime in Constance (KBK), the outboard motor was nevertheless identified and linked to a theft that had taken place in Völklingen (Saarland) immediately beforehand. It had been removed from the fire brigade's rescue boat there. However, not only the firefighters - who had not even noticed the theft - are lucky, but also the suspected perpetrators: they have to be released in exchange for a security deposit.
Of course, the investigators are not prepared to accept this and keep an eye on their "customers". At 5.35 pm on the same day, the two Eastern Europeans are stopped again on their journey home. This time by Bavarian officers near Passau, shortly before leaving for Austria. In addition to other stolen goods, another outboard motor is discovered, the engine number of which also shows signs of tampering. Nonetheless, the Passau officers are also able to clearly identify it.
As the KBK investigates, the Johnson (worth around 2000 euros) comes from a recent theft in Saarbrücken-Burbach. But that's not all: through their colleagues in the accused's home country, the Constance police found out that neither of them had a national driving licence. It is not known how they travelled the remaining 1,300 kilometres home - after another security deposit. The towing vehicle has now also been seized as evidence of the offence.
