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CRIME

Farmer unearths potato thief after 15 years

A German farmer who was fed up with a thief abusing his potato honesty box has caught the culprit after 15 years of watching, and waiting.

Farmer unearths potato thief after 15 years
Photo: DPA

German farms often have stands outside where passersby can take produce and put money in an honesty box. But a potato fan in Lower Saxony has been taking large numbers of spuds during each visit and paying next to nothing for decades.

Fed up with losing potatoes, but not wanting to relinquish the honesty stand, farmer Friedrich Landsberg set up three cameras there 15 years ago. “You simply can’t rely on the honesty of humanity,” he said.

Indeed, It was not until this week that he had enough evidence to report the culprit to the police. The 59-year-old normally wore sunglasses so large that identifying him had proved difficult. His car always remained out of sight, meaning that he could not be traced via its licence plate.

On Monday the cameras caught the potato thief squirrelling 19 kilos of spuds into his bag, and putting just 15 cents in the honesty box. A few days before this he was filmed taking 12.5 kilos – a haul that would have cost him around €10 in a shop.

Finally, the shots were clear enough to identify the mysterious bandit. Police in the Elze area of the state knocked on his door and he confessed to having taken the spuds. In fact, Friedrich had crossed paths with the culprit before, when he caught him stealing ten years ago. A criminal investigation has now been launched.

DPA/The Local/jcw

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BUSINESS

Elon Musk visits Tesla’s sabotage-hit German factory

Elon Musk travelled Wednesday to Tesla's factory near Berlin to lend his workers "support" after the plant was forced to halt production by a suspected arson attack on nearby power lines.

Elon Musk visits Tesla's sabotage-hit German factory

The Tesla CEO addressed thousands of employees on arrival at the site, accusing “eco-terrorists” of the sabotage as he defended his company’s green credentials.

With his son X AE A-XII in his arms, Musk said: “I am here to support you.”

The billionaire’s visit came a week after power lines supplying the electric carmaker’s only European plant were set on fire in an act of sabotage claimed by a far-left group called the Vulkangruppe (Volcano Group).

READ ALSO: Far-left group claims ‘sabotage’ on Tesla’s German factory

Musk had said then that the attack was “extremely dumb”, while the company said it would cost it several hundred million euros.

A week on, the lights have come back on at the site, but Andre Thierig, who heads the site, said on LinkedIn that it would “take a bit of time” before production is back to full speed.

Industry experts have warned that the reputational impact caused by the sabotage on the region could be more severe than the losses suffered by Tesla.

Tesla’s German plant started production in 2022 following an arduous two-year approval and construction process dogged by administrative and legal obstacles.

Tesla wants to expand the site by 170 hectares and boost production up to one million vehicles annually to feed Europe’s growing demand for electric cars and take on rivals who are shifting away from combustion engine vehicles.

But the plans have annoyed local residents, who voted against the project in a non-binding ballot last month.

After the vote, Tesla said it might have to rethink the plans. Environmental activists opposed to the expansion of the factory have recently also set up a camp in a wooded area near the plant.

READ ALSO: Why is Tesla’s expansion near Berlin so controversial?

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