NTwo employees have been jailed after stealing high-quality electrical goods from a branch of mail-order company Amazon. The men admitted at the Augsburg District Court trial that they stole the expensive items from the packages.
A 27-year-old man was given a suspended sentence of one year and nine months for the gang theft, a court spokesman said on Tuesday. The 40-year-old must go to prison for two years and ten months. He was also convicted of drug offenses after a search of his home found cocaine in his possession. Two accused confessed. The parties to the proceedings had also agreed on the penalty range in order to shorten the proceedings. The verdict was already announced on Monday.
Over 150,000 euros in cash was discovered
The accused were working at Amazon's distribution center in Gersthofen, near Augsburg, when the crime was committed. According to the indictment, because of their positions in the company, they were able to determine which packages contained high-value goods, such as smartphones. They allegedly removed the electronic items from the shipments, repackaged them and sent them to a friend.
A 43-year-old woman was also initially charged with gang membership. However, the proceedings against him were terminated in terms of a fine of 1,750 euros. “The background to the possession was the defendant's small and hard-to-prove contribution to the crime,” said a court spokesman.
During the investigation, goods such as smartphones and computers worth more than 30,000 euros were confiscated. In addition, more than 150,000 euros in cash was discovered in the apartment of the three defendants. Now the money is being confiscated by the state because it is believed to be from illegal transactions.