Criminalists have investigated two youth gangs in Graz, which are said to have abused and robbed other young people independently since January. One of the victims was lured into his parents’ apartment by his ex-girlfriend and then beaten with fists and a leather belt. Eleven of the 13 suspects were arrested and taken to the Graz-Jakomini and Leoben prisons. Two are under criminal responsibility, they were reported, the police said.
Most of the young people are already known to the police, as a police officer told the APA. On January 10, a 15-year-old lured her ex-boyfriend (18) into the apartment under the pretext of “having no storm” – the investigators reported. Six boys were already waiting there and attacked him with massive physical violence, the police said. The 18-year-old suffered numerous injuries. The gang demanded money. However, in the meantime residents of the apartment building had become aware, which is why the sextet – Austrians, Serbs and Romanians – “only” took a pack of cigarettes from him and fled.
The investigations led the Graz criminal investigators to the six boys between the ages of 14 and 16 who were known to the authorities. With the support of the EGS (Task Force to Combat Street Crime), the young people have been caught one by one over the past few weeks. The 15-year-old was also arrested and they were all taken to the Graz-Jakomini prison.
The second gang is said to have committed at least three robberies in the Andritz district of Graz. The boys between the ages of 13 and 15, who were also known to the police, from Bulgaria, Serbia, Turkey, Iran and Austria, attacked young Grazers with punches and kicks and took cash from them. One of the victims contacted the police, who already knew one of the suspects and arrested him on the day of the robbery. Within a few days, the investigators then caught all five other suspected gang members who are said to have committed the raids in different compositions. Two of them are still minors, which is why they were not arrested but reported.