Two months after the championship trophy was stolen from the Füchse Berlin office, the police arrested two suspects, but the stolen trophy is unrecognizable.
“The perpetrators have been caught,” reported managing director Bob Hanning on Instagram and then announced “the sad news. The bowl is an ingot.” They only received a silver bar.
The Berlin police and the Berlin public prosecutor’s office had previously informed about the success of the investigation in a joint statement on Thursday. Accordingly, the arrests of the two men, aged 41 and 62, were preceded by “intensive investigations” and searches.
According to the police, during the searches “gold worth a low six-figure euro amount, 15,000 euros in cash, a melted down sterling silver bar, a smelting furnace and other evidence amounting to a truckload were found and seized.” The 62-year-old was taken into police custody and released after police action. The 41-year-old was brought before a judge who executed the arrest warrant.
According to Hanning, a new surveillance system was crucial to the success of the investigation. “Because after the first break-in we installed a camera with voice control,” he explained. This enabled the criminal police to receive sound tracks and information about the perpetrators’ planned actions. The LKA and all associated institutions had “worked incredibly,” praised Hanning. The thief was “an absolute professional” whose career is now probably over. “If he hadn’t tampered with the bowl and had spoken a little less, then he would have continued to do his mischief. But he’s out of business – and that will certainly be the case for many years.”
A few months after the Füchse’s historic first championship title, the bowl was stolen from the Berlin handball club’s premises in mid-November after the office had already been broken into. “I don’t assume that the HBL will distribute bars in the future,” said Hanning. You will therefore have to “make sure” that a new bowl is made.