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03. 08. 12. - 12:45

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03. 08. 12. - 12:45

Rhino thieves jailed

Four men have been jailed after they were convicted of stealing rhino horns from an exhibition in Burg Rastenberg, Lower Austria, last year.

The head of the gang has been sentenced to four years in prison and the three accomplices have received three years, two years and 15 months suspended sentences.

The convicted men are all Poles aged between 21 and 30 years-old.

The men had pre planned the thefts and had identified possible locations to steel the rhino horns, which are much sought after particularly in Asia.

The men were acquitted of the attempted theft from a taxidermist in Vienna after their attempt failed as the door was locked.

The men stole two horns from Burg Rastenberg which were worth 170,000 Euros, the court heard.

In March this year there was a further attempted theft at Burg Rastenberg, which ended in the arrest of the thieves.

State prosecution spokeswoman Susanne Waidecker said: "A fifth member of the gang who is at large is being investigated. Right now we are searching apartments."

She added that the person was from England or Ireland but she would not give further details reasoning that media coverage might hamper further investigations.

Details might be given when the person is arrested or when his trial starts.

Vienna Times

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