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Mommy's Boy Thief Nabbed Calling Home

DW staff (nda)October 26, 2005

A German security guard who made off with a substantial sum destined for a bank was eventually caught following a 10-day manhunt by Interpol agents -- after calling home to his mom from a Croatian beach resort.

https://p.dw.com/p/7MKJ
Phone home: The robber was caught in a city on the Adriatic coastImage: AP

It was hardly the kind of behavior expected of a master thief. After going on the run and evading capture by German police and Interpol agents for nearly two weeks, a crooked security guard who stole 7.2 million euros ($8.6 million) was finally caught after calling his mom.

The German thief, who had fled his homeland for Croatia after taking off with the money destined for a German bank, was caught on Tuesday in the coastal city of Zadar on the Adriatic; a place where he had apparently longed to live for some time.

Robber caught with stolen money in car

The 10-day manhunt ended when the robber was nabbed by officers after he had made a call to his mother. Most of the money from the theft was still in the man's car as he only bought some clothes and shoes, police told the Jutarnji List newspaper.

"We believe all the money was in the trunk of his car, but we are still counting it," police chief Antun Drazina was quoted as saying.

The 38-year-old father of three had a life-long dream of buying a house on the Adriatic sea, one of his former colleagues told the German press.