by Ursula Kampmann
January 21, 2016 – In the German version of CoinsWeekly on January 14th, 2016, we cautioned you against a bold thief, who is robbing Swiss coin shops. Parties affected described him as being Swiss, about 170 cm tall, very lean and of a friendly demeanor. He would simulate interest in gold bullions, which he would then grab and flee on foot. Coin dealers in Sursee, Kanton Lucerne and Aarau belong to the victims.
Caught with the help of Facebook
But Patrick Huber from the coin and precious metal dealership Huber in the city of Aarau operates a surveillance camera in his shop. The thief was caught in the act on film. One of the photos taken was then put online on Facebook, which has probably led the young man to think about what he did.
The thief turns himself in
Last Tuesday, he and his mother showed up at Patrick Hubers coin shop, where the thief apologized. The mother then paid 9,000 Swiss Francs in order to repay the damage. After that, the remorseful thief turned himself in to the police.
What makes this case attractive for the yellow press, is that the gold thief is a former U20-national soccer player, who used to play for a few youth sections of Bundesliga clubs. There is no information about possible motives concerning the theft.
Responsible for further thefts?
He could possibly be responsible for more thefts. The theft in a coin shop in Sursee shows very similar patterns. Patrick Huber also suspects, that the armed robbery taken place at his coin shop on November 13th, 2013, shows a similar course of action.
The police are investigating in every direction.
Last week we reported about the thefts (unfortunately all reports are in German only).
And we also reported about the armed robbery in Aarau in 2013.
The Swiss tabloids wrote extensively about this case. Here are the articles from the Basler Zeitung, from 20 Minuten and the Blick.