Eurojust supported 10 105 cross-border criminal investigations in 2021. Although most of these cases were large-scale operations, the Agency also strives to support individual cases that require swift international cooperation. A recent rapid cooperation between the Czech and German authorities is a good example, with one suspect arrested and stolen property quickly returned.
An efficient cooperation between judicial authorities is essential to fight small-scale cross-border crimes that have an important impact on the lives of European Union citizens. Eurojust plays a key role in time-sensitive investigations that require an urgent coordinated response from multiple national authorities.
In a recent 24-hour on-call coordination between the Czech and German authorities, the Agency enabled the rapid execution of a European Arrest Warrant (EAW) and European Investigation Order (EIO) issued by German authorities. This quickly led to the arrest of an individual accused of stealing an electric bicycle worth EUR 7 600 in Regensburg in Germany.
The suspect allegedly stole the bicycle and tried to sell it in Czechia. A citizen interested in buying the bicycle, suspecting that it was stolen, alerted the German authorities. With Eurojust’s support, the German authorities issued an EIO and an EAW against the suspect on 23 March. The Czech police arrested the suspect and recovered the bicycle within 24 hours. An immediate house search of the suspect´s residence was also conducted. The suspect is expected to be surrendered to the German authorities within the coming days.
The following authorities took part in this investigation:
- Czech Republic: Ostrava City Police Directorate, 9th Department of General Crime; Regional Public Prosecutor´s Office Ostrava
- Germany: Regensburg Prosecutors Office; Criminal Police Office Regensburg.
Eurojust is an agency of the European Union