Private Investigations in Burglary Cases (Case Example)

Reutlingen resident Sonja Scholz worked internationally as a luxury escort. Through her work, she traveled across Europe and the world: Basel, Paris, Barcelona, Dubai, Miami—the list of destinations where she accompanied her clients could go on almost endlessly. Her travel and related services were very well paid, and accordingly, the woman in her mid-twenties led a luxurious life in the Reutlingen city area (Georgenberg): a stylish apartment, high-end furnishings, expensive cars. Ms. Scholz contacted our detective agency in Reutlingen* after her apartment was burglarized during one of her trips. She lived on the raised ground floor, and a friend and colleague who occasionally stayed with her had left the apartment with a tilted window. The perpetrators forced it open and stole over €50,000 in cash as well as valuables—primarily jewelry—worth approximately €65,000. When asked by our detectives in Reutlingen* why she kept so much cash in the apartment, she explained that she had sold one of her cars—a Porsche Cayenne—just days before the burglary and now deeply regretted not taking the money directly to the bank. The fact that the break-in occurred precisely after this sale, at a time when an unusually large amount of cash was stored in her apartment, seemed suspicious to Ms. Scholz: “I don’t think that’s a coincidence!”

While the police unsuccessfully attempted to secure evidence at the crime scene and Ms. Scholz already feared her chances were slipping away, she compiled a list of individuals she believed could be responsible. Every name on this list—later presented to Aaden Corporate Detective Agency Baden-Württemberg—was associated with the red-light and/or drug scene: in part notorious pimps, nightclub bouncers, drug dealers, as well as one client.

A Letter from the Perpetrator?

Since Ms. Scholz’s list contained more than twenty names, narrowing down the circle of suspects proved difficult for about two weeks; systematic investigations would have required considerable personnel effort. Fortunately, an important clue was delivered directly: one of the suspects—clearly not the most cunning individual—sent a letter addressed to the aforementioned friend of our client… to Ms. Scholz’s apartment. The two friends had agreed to send each other photos of incoming mail via WhatsApp during absences. Accordingly, Ms. Scholz opened the suspect’s letter and was surprised to find extortionate payment demands inside. Apparently, her friend owed the suspect significant debts; according to the letter, she had already repaid most of it, but the full amount “could not be recovered from that job.” Had the friend deliberately left the window open to facilitate the burglary and settle her debts this way? A plausible assumption, given that she was among the few who knew about the car sale.

At this point, Ms. Scholz contacted our private detectives in Reutlingen* (+49 711 7153 011-0) to uncover possible debtor relationships between the suspects, gather evidence identifying the burglar(s), and determine the extortionist’s place of residence.

Under Pretext: Meeting Between Target and Detective

An initial address check of the target by Aaden detectives in Swabia revealed an official registered address. However, although a mailbox existed, there was no doorbell. Credible neighbors stated they did not know the person. Only occasionally did a stocky man with tattoos, a short haircut, and silver jewelry come by to collect mail.

To locate the suspect despite the fake address, our corporate detectives in Reutlingen* arranged a meeting by phone. This was made possible through a venue where the suspect was listed online as the owner. Using a pretext, the investigators claimed they wanted to book the entire bar for a class reunion and requested a meeting to discuss details. The suspect took the bait and met with one of our detectives. During the conversation, the undercover investigator gathered details: the man lived in Reutlingen, had been driving a brand-new Audi TTS since the previous week (a topic he eagerly discussed), was unmarried, and earned his money in the nightclub business. He appeared approachable and far more worldly than his appearance and the incriminating letter suggested.

Highly Suspicious Driving Behavior During Surveillance by Our Reutlingen Detectives*

After the meeting with the target person, the undercover investigator said goodbye, and a detective team from Reutlingen, consisting of two observers, took over the pursuit of the suspected burglar. The surveillance would prove extremely difficult, because the target person was “shaking us off,” as one of the two observers told the operations center by phone – an observer who had worked in the SEK for over 20 years and had seen quite a lot during that time.

“Shaking off” is detective jargon for conspicuous behavior by a subject under surveillance intended to lose or expose any followers. As a rule, this does not happen because one of the observers has been noticed, but purely as a precaution, since there is a theoretical possibility of being followed. Anyone who behaves this way usually has something to hide. In our target person’s case, the shaking off consisted of frequent changes in speed, stopping for minutes in the most improbable places (for example highway shoulders and no-parking zones after turning at intersections), deliberately taking detours through side streets (sometimes in circles), making several rounds in roundabouts, and carefully visually inspecting every passing vehicle. Only with the greatest effort, routine, and a bit of luck were our detectives from Reutlingen able to continue the pursuit without losing sight of the target person or being exposed.

Clear Links to the Prostitution Scene

According to Ms. Scholz, the suspicious man had connections to the Swabian red-light scene, especially in Reutlingen, and to the drug scene in Stuttgart, and was primarily believed to earn his money through pimping. The surveillance initially led our detective agency in Reutlingen to the city center, where the target person met a young woman of African descent and received an envelope from her. The suspected burglar then parked in front of a home improvement store whose closing time had just passed, causing the parking lot to gradually empty until the target person was left alone and did not leave the location for a full seven hours. During this time, various other vehicles appeared one by one next to the target vehicle, with their drivers getting out and entering the subject’s car. These were increasingly women and, in some cases, men; based on clothing, hair, and jewelry style, all of them were presumably associated with the red-light scene. What was discussed or done in the target vehicle, our private detectives in Reutlingen could only speculate, as the tinted windows prevented any view inside.

After two o’clock in the morning, all appointments finally seemed to be completed, and the target person drove toward Stuttgart-Mitte, where he met several male individuals of southern European origin near the main station and handed them a sports bag. These men are known to be associated with the drug scene. Around five in the morning, the suspect finally arrived in a residential area of Reutlingen, where he parked his vehicle and then walked another half kilometer to a residential building, even though parking spaces would have been available right in front of it. He disappeared into an apartment and did not leave it again for the next six hours. On the doorbell plate, our client recognized one of the target person’s aliases – the residential address had been found.

Out-of-Court Settlement Through Evidence Gathered by Our Detective Agency in Reutlingen

To obtain meaningful indications of the obvious pimp’s involvement, our detectives in Reutlingen had to continue surveillance for several more days. The resulting detective costs were justified given the very high amount of damages. In addition to further drug transactions and meetings with shady individuals as well as apparent transfers of money from prostitutes to the suspect, our investigators documented two meetings between Ms. Scholz’s friend and the target person. In addition, the man gradually sold off jewelry from the stolen property of our client, partly through jewelers and pawnshops, partly to private buyers via an eBay classifieds account, which our detective agency in Reutlingen discovered during its internet research. In this way, we compiled extensive evidentiary documentation, with which Ms. Scholz, assisted by a security guard, was able to confront the burglar and reach an agreement with him regarding the return of the remaining assets and repayment of the missing amounts. In return, she promised not to submit the collected evidence to the police.

*Notice*

Note: For reasons of discretion and data protection, the locations and certain personal details have been altered without changing the substance of the actual events.

*Note: All assignments of Aaden Detective Agency Stuttgart are processed by our operations management in Stuttgart. We have a network of qualified, vetted investigators who can be active on site for you within a short time.