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CRIME

French thieves pinch one million postage stamps

Brazen thieves managed to escape with an estimated €1.4 million ($1.6 million) worth of postage stamps during a heist at a warehouse in the eastern suburbs of Paris.

Published: 29 September 2015 17:47 CEST
French thieves pinch one million postage stamps
The thieves got away with over one million euros worth of postage stamps. Photo: AFP
Workers at a warehouse in Seine-et-Marne were no doubt shocked to discover ropes dangling from the ceiling of their building on Monday morning. 
 
Realizing they'd been robbed, they alerted police. 
 
A total of 75 boxes of postage stamps were reported missing, believed to have been hauled up through the roof by thieves on Sunday night. 
 
An inventory is still being carried out, but their estimated haul is valued at €1.4 million, a police source told French newspaper L'Express.
 
The source added that CCTV footage from the scene was being examined. 
 
The theft marks the second high-profile hit of its kind this year, after thieves almost got away with €20 million worth of stamps in February. Their haul was found by police in an abandoned vehicle by the roadside just hours after the heist.
 

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CRIME

Danish neighbourhood watches keep Christmas burglaries in check

The number of burglaries reported in Denmark this Christmas remained at the historic lows seen in 2022, with the country's Crime Prevention Council giving credit to its neighbourhood watch app.

Published: 3 January 2024 17:00 CET
Danish neighbourhood watches keep Christmas burglaries in check

Just 660 burglaries were reported between December 19th 2023 and January 1st 2024, more or less level with the 559 recorded the previous year. 

This is a historically low level, with 1,343 burglaries reported over Christmas as recently as 2019, with the Nabohjælp app, a joint venture between the Crime Prevention Council and TrygFonden perhaps playing a role.  

“There are many indications that the Danes have become very good at helping their neighbors during the holidays and also tricking burglars into thinking that someone is home in the many houses that have been empty during the Christmas holidays,” Julie Kofoed, communications consultant for Nabohjælp, said in a press release. 

“Nabohjælp is about cooperation between neighbours, so that you make sure that each other’s homes are always kept an eye on.”

The app, which was launched by the Crime Prevention Council, together with the insurance company TrygFonden, has been downloaded by 270,000 people in Denmark, and its spin-off Nabovenner, or “neighbour friends”, numbers as many as 1,000 volunteers, who run networks of Nabohjælpere, or “neighbourhood helpers” in their areas. 

“Neighbor friends are enthusiasts who promote neighborly assistance where they live,” Kofoed said. “We are convinced that Neighbor Friends play a decisive role in getting the neighborhood helpers activated, around the whole of Denmark and especially in the areas plagued by burglaries.” 

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