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CRIME

Oktoberfest waiter had €6,500 of earnings stolen after falling asleep in S-Bahn

Munich police on Thursday released CCTV images of a man they say stole a large amount of cash from an Oktoberfest waiter’s bag as he slept on a train home after a night of partying.

Oktoberfest waiter had €6,500 of earnings stolen after falling asleep in S-Bahn
Photo: DPA

When the 25-year-old waiter finished his night’s work at the Munich beer festival, he met friends and went out dancing until well into the morning, police report.

All the while the young man was carrying around €6,500 in cash in his wallet. Shortly before nine in the morning, he got into an S8 train at the central station heading towards Herrsching. Unable to keep his eyes open any longer, he fell asleep on his seat.

A few stops later, the as-yet unidentified suspected thief entered the carriage and sat down opposite the slumbering waiter. He waited until the train had driven out of town and the other passengers had left the carriage. Then he sat down next to the waiter and stuck his hand into his bag several times, each time bringing out another wad of cash.

When the waiter woke up he realized that all his money was missing.

Waiters at Oktoberfest are reputed to earn upwards of ten thousand euros within a little over two weeks. While the pay is good, the work is notoriously strenuous, requiring physical and mental fortitude.

Police ask anyone with information about the man in the photo to contact them on 089/515550-111

POLITICS

Germany raids properties in bribery probe aimed at AfD politician

German officials said on Thursday they had raided properties as part of a bribery probe into an MP, who media say is a far-right AfD lawmaker accused of spreading Russian propaganda.

Germany raids properties in bribery probe aimed at AfD politician

The investigation targets Petr Bystron, the number-two candidate for the Alternative for Germany (AfD) party in next month’s European Parliament elections, Der Spiegel news outlet reported.

Police, and prosecutors in Munich, confirmed on Thursday they were conducting “a preliminary investigation against a member of the German Bundestag on the initial suspicion of bribery of elected officials and money laundering”, without giving a name.

Properties in Berlin, the southern state of Bavaria and the Spanish island of Mallorca were searched and evidence seized, they said in a statement.

About 70 police officers and 11 prosecutors were involved in the searches.

Last month, Bystron denied media reports that he was paid to spread pro-Russian views on a Moscow-financed news website, just one of several scandals that the extreme-right anti-immigration AfD is battling.

READ ALSO: How spying scandal has rocked troubled German far-right party

Bystron’s offices in the German parliament, the Bundestag, were searched after lawmakers voted to waive the immunity usually granted to MPs, his party said.

The allegations against Bystron surfaced in March when the Czech government revealed it had bust a Moscow-financed network that was using the Prague-based Voice of Europe news site to spread Russian propaganda across Europe.

Did AfD politicians receive Russian money?

Czech daily Denik N said some European politicians cooperating with the news site were paid from Russian funds, in some cases to fund their European Parliament election campaigns.

It singled out the AfD as being involved.

Denik N and Der Spiegel named Bystron and Maximilian Krah, the AfD’s top candidate for the European elections, as suspects in the case.

After the allegations emerged, Bystron said that he had “not accepted any money to advocate pro-Russian positions”.

Krah has denied receiving money for being interviewed by the site.

On Wednesday, the European Union agreed to impose a broadcast ban on the Voice of Europe, diplomats said.

The AfD’s popularity surged last year, when it capitalised on discontent in Germany at rising immigration and a weak economy, but it has dropped back in the face of recent scandals.

As well as the Russian propaganda allegations, the party has faced a Chinese spying controversy and accusations that it discussed the idea of mass deportations with extremists, prompting a wave of protests across Germany.

READ ALSO: Germany, Czech Republic accuse Russia of cyberattacks

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