November 20, 2008 01:12pm
GERMAN police dressed in tree suits lay in wait in a forest for eight hours in a bid to catch a serial burglar.
The bizarre outfits were used in the sting by police in Bochum in North Rhine-Westphalia to nab the Romanian robber, German newspaper Bild reported.
A passer-by had earlier discovered rubbish bags containing laptops, clothes and tools for breaking in in what turned out to be the burglar's hide-out.
One of the officers involved told Bild he was keen to catch the crook red-handed.
“I discussed with my colleague how we could camouflage ourselves in the forest. Then we discovered the suit in a mail-order catalogue and bought two for €100 each – out of our own pockets.”
The enterprising pair donned the suits and lay in wait for eight hours before they heard a car approaching.
“As we jumped up from the ground, we were immediately attacked. But we were able to overwhelm and arrest the man", the officer told Bild.
The 39-year-old Romanian had allegedly travelled to Germany for the break-ins.
“We were able to recover the stolen laptops. That made spending our own money worthwhile," the officer told Bild.
