Police catch the "postcard blackmailer"
For decades, companies have repeatedly received postcards threatening to explode letter bombs. But no money is ever handed over and no explosive devices go off. Now the author of the cards has been tracked down.
After more than 30 years, the police have succeeded in solving a series of blackmail attempts. A man who is now 70 years old has been identified as the suspect. He is said to have tried to blackmail companies with postcards. The police in Kempten, Bavaria, together with the Kempten public prosecutor's office, announced that the series of crimes committed by the man, who was based in Hanover in Lower Saxony, had been solved.
According to the police, a total of more than 360 acts are known in Germany since 1992, in which an unknown blackmailer announced by postcard that a letter bomb would explode if no money was paid. At the beginning of April, a food manufacturer in Ostallgäu received another postcard with a threat and demand for 500,000 euros. Two days later, a hotel in Oberallgäu also received a postcard with the same content.
Assuming that the man was also sending other mail, the officers in Lower Saxony had mail items monitored at a distribution center. The investigators found the suspect via other private postcards with identical handwriting. They contained sender data. The police in Kempten were finally able to identify the 70-year-old as the author of the cards. According to the police and public prosecutor's office, around 70 of the crimes could be attributed to him with the help of DNA tests, but the investigation is still ongoing.
During the search of the man's home in Hanover, the police reportedly gave the senior citizen an urgent threat assessment. Since then, no further cases have come to light, they added. The public prosecutor's office has not applied for an arrest warrant for the suspected blackmailer because there is no risk of flight.
However, there are serious doubts about the seriousness of the blackmail attempts. According to investigators, the man never gave any details about the money transfer. "The motive is still completely unclear," said Josef Ischwang, head of the Kempten criminal investigation department. Not only did the man not state any details of the money transfer on his cards. He also made no further contact with the companies after sending the postcard.
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The international investigation into the postcard blackmail case revealed that the suspect had a history of criminality, including attempts at extortion. Despite operating from Hanover, the man's crimes had reached companies across Germany, causing concern and disruption for decades.
Source: www.ntv.de
