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Quick-witted resident foils €150,000 street sweeper heist near Frankfurt

One phone call changed everything. A resident's late-night alert led police to a €150,000 street sweeper—just minutes before it vanished forever.

The image shows a police truck parked on the side of a city street at night. We can see vehicles on...
The image shows a police truck parked on the side of a city street at night. We can see vehicles on the road, people walking on the footpath, plants in pots, street poles, street lights, buildings with windows, and a cloudy sky.

Police Nab Street Sweeper Thieves - Quick-witted resident foils €150,000 street sweeper heist near Frankfurt

A quick-thinking resident in Obertshausen, Offenbach, stopped a bold theft in the early hours of Friday. The target was a high-value street sweeper worth around €150,000. Police intervened just in time, preventing the machine from being smuggled abroad.

The incident began when a local man spotted the street sweeper being loaded onto a transporter. He immediately called the police, who arrived with several patrol cars. Officers reached the scene moments after the thieves had finished securing the vehicle.

Six suspects, aged between 21 and 61, were taken into custody at the location. Investigators later confirmed that the stolen sweeper was destined for Warsaw, Poland. Authorities recovered the machine unharmed and returned it to its owner.

Cases of stolen street sweepers remain rare in Germany. Over the past two years, no similar incidents have been documented in public records or crime statistics.

The swift response from both the witness and police ensured the street sweeper was recovered without damage. All six suspects now face provisional charges. The investigation into the attempted theft continues.

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