Lucerne Series of 170 burglaries solved

Three men are alleged to have committed 170 burglaries and sneak-ins in the canton of Lucerne and made a haul of 420,000 francs. They are now to be tried in criminal court.

The three men come from Algeria and Tunisia and were arrested in the cantons of Basel-Landschaft and Lucerne, as the public prosecutor's office of the canton of Lucerne announced on Monday. They are alleged to have committed offenses in several cantons.

In the canton of Lucerne alone, the three men are said to have committed around 170 offenses between July and October 2022. According to the statement, the public prosecutor's office accuses them of breaking into or sneaking into cellars and garages of apartment buildings in Rothenburg, Hochdorf, Sempach, Sempach-Station, Emmenbrücke, Ebikon, Nottwil and Sursee. They are said to have stolen bicycles, clothes and valuables worth 420,000 francs.

The three men are said to have committed the crimes in different combinations. The property damage they caused is estimated by the public prosecutor's office at 70,000 francs.

They have referred the charges to the Lucerne Criminal Court, the public prosecutor's office announced. A trial date has not yet been scheduled. The accused are presumed innocent until a final verdict is reached.

SDA