A car belonging to Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk’s family was stolen overnight from Tuesday to Wednesday. Tricity police officers located the Lexus vehicle several hours after the overnight theft from outside the Prime Minister’s home in Sopot. It was parked in a parking lot in Gdańsk.
According to the Do Rzeczy news portal, citing PAP, the arrested man has previous convictions for fraud and crimes against life.
In the wake of the incident, unofficial reports have stated that Tusk’s protection detail has been increased and extra security measures have been put in place.
Pomeranian police announced that a suspect was arrested at 6:00 a.m. Saturday at Gdańsk Airport. The 41-year-old Sopot resident had planned to fly to Bulgaria.
“The suspect was surprised by the arrest and offered no resistance. The dynamic arrest was the culmination of extensive operations undertaken by officers from the Criminal Investigation Department of the Provincial Police Headquarters in Gdańsk, starting from the moment the theft of the vehicle was reported,” said Commander Karina Kamińska, press officer at the Provincial Police Headquarters in Gdańsk.
The perpetrator has allegedly been charged with two counts: burglary and theft of a motor vehicle and its contents, as well as removing a document (vehicle registration certificate) from the vehicle. The man pleaded not guilty to the charges and declined to comment.
Burglary is punishable by 1 to 10 years in prison. A second offense carries a penalty of three months to five years in prison.
As Do Rzeczy writes, the act of stealing the PM’s vehicle is “shocking” because his home in Sopot, like his normal residence in Warsaw, is under the protection of the State Protection Service (SOP).
“Formally, we have no obligation to protect property left on public property. However, in such a situation, attention is always drawn to a VIP’s car. Detailed police information will be sent to the commander of the State Protection Service, and based on it, he will decide whether to initiate an internal investigation into the matter. I expect the procedure will be initiated; after all, it concerns the protection of the prime minister,” an SOP officer, who requested anonymity, told the media outlet Super Express.
