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NORWEGIAN

Norwegian swindler arrested in Spain

A Norwegian man wanted on suspicion of kidnapping, robbing and extorting several million kronor from wealthy Swedish men was caught and arrested in Spain on Thursday.

The trial of three of the suspected accomplices of Philip Holst-Cappelen was supposed to end at Stockholm district court on Friday, but with his arrest, it is unclear what will happen.

“It is extremely gratifying that the man has been arrested. Now the question remains as to what will happen with the case,” prosecutor Ulrika Lindsö told news agency TT.

Holst-Cappelen, 45, has been under suspicion, along with his three accomplices, for the kidnapping, threatening, robbing and extorting several wealthy Swedish men. The trial deals with two men who exposed the crimes of the gang.

Holst-Cappelen successfully made off with 15.6 million kronor ($2.41 million) from the two victims and has been on an international wanted list. His companions were not as lucky and were arrested and charged with aggravated robbery and accessory to kidnapping.

“We are now discussing what should happen to the man and the trial. Since he is also wanted in Norway, it is very unclear. Now it is Spain that will decide whether the man will be extradited here,” said Lindsö.

The court has decided that she will continue to present her case later on Friday despite the arrest, when she addresses an assault that took place in Gothenburg.

Holst-Cappelen and a 32-year-old Indonesian male accomplice lived in an apartment that shared an entrance with a 47-year-old millionaire’s home in Gothenburg.

After tracking his movements for several months, they held the man hostage in his apartment for six days in March 2010 until he transferred more than 3.6 million kronor to them. The man did not report the incident to police because the assailants had threatened to kill his mother.

Several months later, the gang kidnapped another millionaire in his apartment on Stockholm’s exclusive Strandvägen for three days until he transferred 12 million kronor to them.

Holst-Cappelen is alleged to have targetted other high-earning Swedes as potential victims by scrutinising salary lists and information about family members.

The trial continues next Friday with the parties’ pleas.

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GERMANY

Germany cracks down on fake Covid vaccine documents

German police have set up a special team to fight a growing number of forged vaccine certificates being sold in the black market

Germany cracks down on fake Covid vaccine documents
People who are fully vaccinated can show their vaccination booklet, which has a stamp and a sticker inside. Photo: Ina FASSBENDER / AFP

Police in Cologne have warned of a group of fraudsters selling fake vaccination certificates, a growing problem the scale of which is still unclear.

The police said the fraudsters worked in encrypted Telegram chats, making investigations difficult, and were selling fake documents with all the stamps and signatures, including a mark about vaccination with BioNTech or AstraZeneca.

READ ALSO: Germany probes Covid-19 testing centres for fraud

The fraud involved both real traffic in fake documents as well as scams luring customers into paying €100.

People in Germany who are fully vaccinated can show their vaccination booklet, which has a stamp and a sticker inside. Those who don’t have a booklet get a piece of paper.

Covid health passes are currently being rolled out across the EU, with a European health passport expected to be available from mid-June.

READ ALSO: What’s the latest on how the EU’s ‘Covid passports’ will work for travellers?

Over 44% of the adult population in Germany has received at least one dose of the Covid-19 vaccine, and more than 18% of Germans have been fully vaccinated.

German police have said forged coronavirus vaccine documents are becoming an increasing problem.

Last month, a couple in Baden-Württemberg was accused of selling fake coronavirus vaccination certificates.

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