Ironweed
05-10-2006, 10:26 AM
Not that I support this, but I still gotta chuckle.
Modern-Day Robin Hoods Have Hamburg Cops Baffled
They steal from the rich and give to the poor. And just like Robin Hood and his men, a gang of Hamburg activists are proving difficult to catch despite the fact they dress as superheroes when they raid swanky stores.
A bunch of egalitarian criminals who go by such names as "Spider Mum" and "Santa Guevara" are being referred to as modern-day Germany's version of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. And just like the Sheriff of Nottingham in the legend of Sherwood Forest's most famous outlaw, the Hamburg police are at a loss when it comes to stopping them.
The group, which calls itself "Hamburg Umsonst" -- loosely translated as Hamburg Without Charge, has apparently graduated from handing out flyers with tips on how to forge cinema tickets and travel illegally on public transport to raiding the swankiest stores and delicatessens before distributing their swag to the city's poor.
Their most high profile job to date came last week. Dressed in an array of comic book hero costumes, the gang raided a well-to-do eatery in the north German port city last Friday during work hours and absconded with a large amount of fine food -- after posing for a publicity photograph with bemused staff. Hamburg cops called to the crime scene drew a blank despite deploying 14 patrol cars and a police helicopter.
Continued (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1997748,00.html)
14 patrol cars and a helicopter? Don't the police in Germany have anything better to do?
Modern-Day Robin Hoods Have Hamburg Cops Baffled
They steal from the rich and give to the poor. And just like Robin Hood and his men, a gang of Hamburg activists are proving difficult to catch despite the fact they dress as superheroes when they raid swanky stores.
A bunch of egalitarian criminals who go by such names as "Spider Mum" and "Santa Guevara" are being referred to as modern-day Germany's version of Robin Hood and his Merry Men. And just like the Sheriff of Nottingham in the legend of Sherwood Forest's most famous outlaw, the Hamburg police are at a loss when it comes to stopping them.
The group, which calls itself "Hamburg Umsonst" -- loosely translated as Hamburg Without Charge, has apparently graduated from handing out flyers with tips on how to forge cinema tickets and travel illegally on public transport to raiding the swankiest stores and delicatessens before distributing their swag to the city's poor.
Their most high profile job to date came last week. Dressed in an array of comic book hero costumes, the gang raided a well-to-do eatery in the north German port city last Friday during work hours and absconded with a large amount of fine food -- after posing for a publicity photograph with bemused staff. Hamburg cops called to the crime scene drew a blank despite deploying 14 patrol cars and a police helicopter.
Continued (http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,2144,1997748,00.html)
14 patrol cars and a helicopter? Don't the police in Germany have anything better to do?