Arrest Made in Connection with Car Theft: Collaborative Announcement by Heilbronn Prosecutor's Office and Heilbronn Police Headquarters

In the early hours of February 27th, 2025, a theft took place in Nußäckerstraße, Bad Rappenau-Bonfeld, when an Audi Q5 was stolen. The owner of the vehicle, whose identity has not been disclosed, discovered his car missing upon checking the next day.

Investigations led by the Heilbronn Criminal Police Directorate's Kriminalinspektion 2 revealed that the stolen vehicle was spotted on the A72 motorway heading east on Thursday morning. The Bavarian police, who had been investigating a similar case, informed their colleagues in Heilbronn about their findings.

The subsequent stop of the Audi on the A72 motorway, at the Hof/Töpen exit in Bavaria, by a civilian patrol car from the Bayreuth Traffic Police Inspectorate, led to the temporary arrest of a 40-year-old Polish national. A subsequent search of the Audi revealed Polish license plates registered to an identical vehicle.

During the police interrogation, the suspect admitted to the drive. Inconsistencies detected during the stop and the fact that the car keys were still at home suggested that the theft was not a simple carjacking. It is suspected that the theft was facilitated by intercepting the KeylessGo signal of the vehicle key.

The arrest warrant for aggravated theft was executed by officers from the Kriminalinspektion 2 of the Heilbronn Criminal Police Directorate. The suspect was taken into custody following the court appearance at the Heilbronn District Court on Friday.

The suspect's case was handled by the Heilbronn District Court. However, the commissioner or head handling the case of the stolen Audi Q5 in Bad Rappenau-Bonfeld has not been publicly disclosed.

As of now, the suspect has yet to be formally charged or identified publicly. The court proceedings are ongoing.

Arrest Made in Connection with Car Theft: Collaborative Announcement by Heilbronn Prosecutor's Office and Heilbronn Police Headquarters