• Germany edition
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Police arrest one in poker heist investigation

Published: 13 Mar 10 11:06 CET
Online: http://www.thelocal.de/national/20100313-25853.html

Police in Berlin hunting for a gang who robbed a high-stakes poker tournament in front of rolling cameras have made an arrest and raided several addresses in the capital.

A team of armed officers arrested a suspect thought to have taken part in the robbery, police confirmed on Saturday morning, following a report in the Berliner Morgenpost newspaper.

Detectives investigating the heist on the tournament at the Berlin Grand Hyatt Hotel on Potsdamer Platz arrested the man on Friday evening after following clues about the getaway car.

Four machete-wielding men stormed the European Poker Tour while guards were on their break, and just as hundreds of thousands of euros were being prepared for transfer to the main safe.

They escaped with around €242,000 in cash, having caused chaos amid the crowded hotel, where players including celebrities such as Boris Becker had been taking part in the poker match.

Sources told the paper the man they arrested was thought to have taken part in another high-profile robbery in 2004. That January four armed masked men stormed the casino at the top of the Park Inn on Alexanderplatz in central Berlin. They were later arrested and convicted, receiving jail terms of between two and four years.

DPA/The Local (news@thelocal.de)

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15:24 March 13, 2010 by biker hotel harz
2 to 4 years for armed robbery? Seems well worth it. I think I might have a go.
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