According to the MTI report, Monica Krüger, head of the Swedish Border Police, explained in an interview with public television that thieves inject nitric acid into door locks, so that their internal parts oxidize and quickly disintegrate, allowing easy access to residential apartments.
According to Österling, since May 20, these robberies have been committed mainly in central Stockholm, and the real number could be more than 50. Many of the victims are probably still on vacation, so they only realize later that they have been hacked.
Police do not yet know who is behind the series of robberies, but they do not rule out that an international network is responsible. In the past two years, similar cases have been reported from Germany, France, Belgium, Austria and Portugal.
The Swedish police therefore do not rule out the possibility that the same criminal group travels from one country to another and commits robberies. The police of the countries involved have also been contacted, as well as the European Union's police cooperation organisation Europol, based in The Hague.
In its pure state, colourless nitric acid provides a quiet entry for thieves, but its distinctive pungent odour quickly spreads up stairwells, so residents can be alerted to a break-in, Monica Kruger added in her statement to the press.
