On 18 December, operational police officers from Zgorzelec arrested three men, aged 19, 23 and 29, suspected of fraud. The arrests took place after officers received information about another attempted fraud being prepared by the perpetrators.
During the actions undertaken in the case, after identifying the possible location where the perpetrators were to commit the fraud again, police officers noticed a courier to whom two men handed an envelope while receiving a parcel. Instead of money, the envelope contained shredded newspapers.
The officers then arrested the men, who turned out to be residents of Zgorzelec, aged 19 and 29. Their intended loot was two mobile phones with a total value of PLN 8,500.
Further actions also led to the identification of their accomplice, a 23-year-old resident of Zgorzelec.
Police officers handling the case established that the men were responsible for at least six other similar incidents. Each time, they acted in a similar manner. They ordered valuable equipment, for which they were supposed to pay upon delivery. They usually arranged to meet at petrol stations or on the street, where they were to collect the parcel. After receiving it, they left the courier an envelope that was supposed to contain money. However, the envelope contained only shredded newspapers. In this way, the perpetrators caused total losses exceeding PLN 20,000.
Police officers are continuing to investigate all the circumstances of these cases in detail and are checking whether the arrested men have committed other similar offences.
All three men face up to eight years in prison.