Tracking equipment from GSGroup led the police to the 43-year-old, who has now been sentenced to two years in prison by the court in Sønderborg. The man is sentenced for aggravated theft of, among other things GPS equipment worth approximately SEK 2 million.
Five GPS systems were stolen during a break-in at a machinery station one morning in April 2021. A GPS system for an agricultural machine costs between SEK 100,000 and 200,000, and in recent years, farms and machine shops across the country have been hit hard by burglaries, with thieves targeting GPS systems.
Therefore, GSGroup, in collaboration with the industry organization Danske Maskinstationer & Entreprenører (DM&E), has developed a tracking solution for GPS systems. One of the stolen GPS systems contained a GSGroup tracking device.
“We received a signal that the equipment was at the Danish-German border and therefore contacted both the Danish and German police. At the same time, we activated our German search team, who followed the track of the car driving eastwards. We feared that the car was heading to Poland and therefore had a Polish search team on standby via our office in Lithuania” says Area Sales Manager Sune Andersen from GSGroup.
After a six-hour chase, German police stopped a Mercedes Sprinter minibus in which the convicted thief was located.
Among other things, the police found 26 GPS monitors and 16 GPS antennas worth SEK 2,002,467 in the minibus. They also found 35 laptops, 54 iPhones worth about 420,000 SEK, over 24 kilos of silver including silverware and over 10 kilos of jewelry with a total value of 2,101,725 SEK.
The man was extradited to Denmark on July 9, where he was arrested and has been in prison ever since. In December, the court in Sønderborg sentenced the 43-year-old man to two years’ imprisonment and deportation for aggravated theft.
He was also convicted of stealing the items for which the police have not yet found an owner. The five GPS systems with tracking devices have been returned to their owners.
Since 1992, GSGroup has been working on tracking and recovering lost objects and today we are one of Europe’s leading suppliers of sensor technology.
“GSGroup has a strong network of local, professional search teams that work closely with each country’s police force, so our chances of tracking and recovering lost items are very good. Like organized criminals, we also operate across national borders. Equipment is often stolen in one country, transported through another and sold in a third. This is why we have a network of partners that we work with across Europe.” says Sune Andersen.
GSGroup has 15 offices in nine countries, including Eastern Europe. The head office is located in Norway.