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Drug addict bank robber ‘wanted to go to jail’

A drug addict tried to rob a bank in Frankfurt - not to feed his habit, but so he would be put in jail where he could go cold turkey and beat his habit. He was handed a cup of coffee rather than cash by bank staff.

Published: 4 February 2014 15:04 CET

Drug addict bank robber 'wanted to go to jail'

No jail for the would-be robber. Photo: DPA

And rather than prosecute the 44-year-old man, authorities decided to let him walk, leaving him to get help for his addiction on his own.

The man entered the Deutsche Bank on Monday morning, and initially queued up along with the other customers.

When he got to the bank teller, he handed over a note which read: "This is a robbery! I need money." He demanded €1,000.

But the man did not really want the money, and told the 23-year-old bank worker to press the alarm button.

They started chatting, and he admitted to her that he was actually seeking to be arrested so he could come off drugs.

The bank employee offered him a seat and a cup of coffee, while they waited for the police to arrive.

Other customers did not even realize they were involved in an on-going, would-be robbery, Frankfurt police said in a statement.

When officers got to the bank in central Frankfurt, they took the wannabe robber to the station, where he admitted everything, stressing he wanted to go to prison to get off drugs.

But he even failed to get this far.

"He didn't hurt anyone, didn't damage anything, so there was no reason for us to hold him. He was offered advice on where he could seek help for his addiction independently," a police spokesman told The Local, adding that it was not clear what drugs he had been taking.

READ MORE: Teen robs bank with toy gun, flees on bicycle

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Aide to German far-right MEP arrested on suspicion of spying for China

The man, named only as Jian G., stands accused of sharing information about negotiations at European Parliament with a Chinese intelligence service and of spying on Chinese opposition figures in Germany, federal prosecutors said in a statement.

On the website of the European Parliament, Jian Guo is listed as an accredited assistant to MEP Maximilian Krah, the far-right AfD party’s lead candidate in the forthcoming EU-wide elections.

He is a German national who has reportedly worked as an aide to Krah in Brussels since 2019.

The suspect “is an employee of a Chinese secret service”, prosecutors said.

“In January 2024, the accused repeatedly passed on information about negotiations and decisions in the European Parliament to his intelligence service client.

“He also spied on Chinese opposition members in Germany for the intelligence service.”

The suspect was arrested in the eastern German city of Dresden on Monday and his homes were searched, they added.

The accused lives in both Dresden and Brussels, according to broadcasters ARD, RBB and SWR, who broke the news about the arrest.

The AfD said the allegations were “very disturbing”.

“As we have no further information on the case, we must wait for further investigations by federal prosecutors,” party spokesman Michael Pfalzgraf said in a statement.

The case is likely to fuel concern in the West about aggressive Chinese espionage.

It comes after Germany on Monday arrested three German nationals suspected of spying for China by providing access to secret maritime technology.

READ ALSO: Germany arrests three suspected of spying for China

China’s embassy in Berlin “firmly” rejected the allegations, according to Chinese state-run news agency Xinhua.

According to German media, the two cases are not connected.

In Britain on Monday, two men were charged with handing over “articles, notes, documents or information” to China between 2021 and last year.

Police named the men as Christopher Berry, 32, and Christoper Cash, 29, who previously worked at the UK parliament as a researcher.

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