More than three decades after one of the most notorious robberies of the early 1990s, officers of the Central Bureau of Investigation of the Police and prosecutors from the Lower Silesian Branch of the National Prosecutor’s Office succeeded in identifying, indicting and securing convictions against the perpetrators of a crime that had been considered unsolved for years. CBŚP:

This was the result of painstaking, months-long operational and analytical work, which broke the silence and led investigators to crucial evidence.

A prosecutor from the Lower Silesian Branch of the Department for Organized Crime and Corruption of the National Prosecutor’s Office in Wrocław filed and supported before the District Court in Jelenia Góra an indictment against 79-year-old Romuald Ł., known as “Szakal”, and 72-year-old Zbigniew K.. The defendants were charged with the murder of exchange office employee Cezary Ł. and attempted murder of exchange office owner Grzegorz C., which took place on January 21, 1992, in Zgorzelec. The perpetrators’ motive was the desire to steal cash—approximately one billion of the zlotys in circulation at the time.

Investigators’ findings indicate that the robbery had been carefully planned. After observing the exchange office, located in the Centrum Department Store on Okrzei Street, for some time, the perpetrators attacked when its employees were leaving the building with the day’s takings. The masked attackers fired guns at both men, then took the bag of money and hid in the city. Cezary Ł., aged 25, died at the scene as a result of his injuries.

Zbigniew K. and the now-deceased Józef S. were identified as the direct perpetrators of the robbery. Romuald Ł.’s role was to direct the entire operation—he was allegedly responsible for planning the perpetrators’ actions, observing the area before the attack, providing the weapons and a hideout after the robbery, and influencing the division of the loot.

Despite extensive efforts in the 1990s, including the broadcast of a report on the “997” program and the announcement of a substantial cash reward, the investigation at the time was discontinued because the perpetrators could not be identified.

The breakthrough came only at the beginning of 2024. Officers of the Department for Combating Organized Criminal Crime of the CBŚP Board in Wrocław, working under the supervision of a prosecutor from the Lower Silesian Branch of the National Prosecutor’s Office, obtained new, crucial information. The Bureau:

The police analyzed extensive archives, verified testimony from years earlier and carried out numerous operational activities that made it possible to reconstruct the events of 1992. This enormous investigative effort led to the reopening of the discontinued proceedings and the bringing of charges against two suspects.

Ultimately, on the basis of the evidence collected, the District Court in Jelenia Góra issued a judgment on November 28, 2025, finding the defendants guilty of the acts with which they had been charged. Romuald Ł. was sentenced to 25 years in prison, while Zbigniew K.—acting as a recidivist—was sentenced to life imprisonment. The defendants were deprived of public rights for 10 years and ordered to pay compensatory damages to the injured party and the legal representative of the deceased.

The judgment is not final. The officers summed up the case: – Thanks to the determination of CBŚP officers and prosecutors from the National Prosecutor’s Office, after 33 years justice has been restored in one of the most notorious criminal cases of the early 1990s.

Headline: illustrative photograph.