The wallet of Angela Merkel was stolen from her bag while grocery shopping in Berlin on Thursday, local media has reported.
According to the B.Z. news outlet, the former German chancellor had been browsing a delicatessen supermarket in Berlin’s Charlottenburg district on Thursday, when her wallet was swiped from her handbag which had been hanging from the shopping cart.
Merkel had been accompanied by at least one bodyguard from the Federal Criminal Police Office (BKA), however, this had not been sufficient to deter the pickpocket.
The stolen wallet contained Merkel’s ID card, EC card (debit card), driver’s license, and cash.
Berlin authorities confirmed that a 67-year-old woman’s wallet had been stolen in a supermarket on Thursday around 11:40 a.m., but did not elaborate further.
It is understood that Merkel did not alert the police at the time of the incident but subsequently went to the police station on Friedrichstrasse to report the theft herself.
