Sack of urine led to Swedish thief's capture
A forgotten bag full of urine led to the conviction of a Swedish bank robber who had locked himself in the vault of Copenhagen bank.
The 27-year-old Swede and his accomplice survived a weekend on water and cornflakes after managing to sneak into the bank's vault in May of last year, the Aftonbladet newspaper reports.
Outside the bank, two other men stood watch armed with mobile phones which they used to warn the Swede and his partner about the bank guards' rounds.
While in the vault, the robbers emptied 140 safety deposit boxes of cash and jewelry.
During their extended stay in the bank's basement, the pair made use of plastic bags to heed nature's call.
When the Swede and his fellow thief attempted to leave the bank on Monday morning, they were discovered by a security guard, who gave chase.
In an attempt to distract the guard, the 27-year-old Swede threw the urine-filled bag at him.
And while he and his accomplice managed to escape following the counter-attack, the decision to leave the bag full of pee behind turned out to be the Swede's downfall.
Investigators were eventually able to use DNA found in the discarded urine to identify him.
On Tuesday, the Swede was convicted for the coup by a Danish court and sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.
During the trial, the 27-year-old admitted to being in the bank vault, but denied involvement in the planning of the heist, the Danish Ekstrabladet newspaper reported.
His three accomplices, however, were never caught and the loot, which resulted in the bank paying out 2.7 million kronor ($425,000) in compensation to the deposit box owners, was never recovered.
Comments
See Also
The 27-year-old Swede and his accomplice survived a weekend on water and cornflakes after managing to sneak into the bank's vault in May of last year, the Aftonbladet newspaper reports.
Outside the bank, two other men stood watch armed with mobile phones which they used to warn the Swede and his partner about the bank guards' rounds.
While in the vault, the robbers emptied 140 safety deposit boxes of cash and jewelry.
During their extended stay in the bank's basement, the pair made use of plastic bags to heed nature's call.
When the Swede and his fellow thief attempted to leave the bank on Monday morning, they were discovered by a security guard, who gave chase.
In an attempt to distract the guard, the 27-year-old Swede threw the urine-filled bag at him.
And while he and his accomplice managed to escape following the counter-attack, the decision to leave the bag full of pee behind turned out to be the Swede's downfall.
Investigators were eventually able to use DNA found in the discarded urine to identify him.
On Tuesday, the Swede was convicted for the coup by a Danish court and sentenced to one year and nine months in prison.
During the trial, the 27-year-old admitted to being in the bank vault, but denied involvement in the planning of the heist, the Danish Ekstrabladet newspaper reported.
His three accomplices, however, were never caught and the loot, which resulted in the bank paying out 2.7 million kronor ($425,000) in compensation to the deposit box owners, was never recovered.
Join the conversation in our comments section below. Share your own views and experience and if you have a question or suggestion for our journalists then email us at [email protected].
Please keep comments civil, constructive and on topic – and make sure to read our terms of use before getting involved.
Please log in here to leave a comment.