Around Slovakia

Six men steal 23 tonnes of alloy parts
Parents accused of selling daughter
Underwear-masked robber sentenced to 3.5 years
Man lies to media; is arrested
Woman brought down by 30 kilos
Massacred swan found
Man goes to jail over 20 crowns
Illegal booze on sale in pawn shop

Nitra
Six men steal 23 tonnes of alloy parts

INVESTIGATORS in Nitra charged six young men with theft for breaking into the storage house of a limestone quarry in Žirany and stealing almost 23 tonnes of parts.
According to the state-run TASR news agency, the perpetrators, aged between 18 and 23, stole 459 parts that each weighed 50 kilos. The parts were made of an alloy that included iron, nickel, manganese, and chrome.
During the winter they visited the quarry several times, loading the components into a borrowed truck, and then taking their booty to a recycling centre where they sold the material for Sk40,000 (€990).
The quarry suffered damages of Sk2.9 million (€71,400).
The police investigation showed that most of the parts were later sold to Italy. The men face between two and eight years in jail.


Levice
Parents accused of selling daughter

POLICE from the southwestern Slovak town of Levice have initiated proceedings against a couple who allegedly sold their daughter, 13, into marriage for Sk55,000 (€1,350).
The identities of the sellers and the buyer have not been released.
According to the private news agency SITA, the alleged bride is Jana F from the village of Želiezovce.
Her parents denied the allegations, but police in Levice suspect that the girl regularly had sex with a young man from Nové Zámky.
"If the parents are convicted of selling their daughter, they face three to 10 years in jail," said police spokesman Miloš Fábry.
According to Roma leader Róbert Németh, it is still common practice to sell young girls into wedlock.
"In the Roma community the price for a bride is at least Sk100,000 (€2,460). I don't like the practice; it reminds me of a horse auction," Németh said to the Slovak daily Nový Čas on February 7.
"When a groom likes the prospective bride, they [the groom and the bride's family] start negotiating. They still do it in some cities and villages. Usually, these girls are between 15 and 20; no money is paid for an older bride," he said.


Levice
Underwear-masked robber sentenced to 3.5 years

A MAN who robbed a filling station last May while masked in underwear was sentenced to 3.5 years in jail by a court in Trnava.
According to the Slovak daily Nový Čas, Peter Kubík, 29, a former police officer, covered his face to avoid press cameras during the trial. He told the court that he regretted his act, which he said was impulsive and foolish.
The two employees present at the filling station when Kubík made his veiled threat later said that at first they thought it was a joke.
They ultimately gave Kubík the Sk11,000 (€271) that they had in cash. One employee later said that Kubík lost Sk1,000 (€24) while running out of the shop.
An hour later, however, Kubík came back and returned almost all of the money, saying that he realised his mistake. It turned out that he had lost Sk150,000 (€3,700) in gambling the night before the robbery.
A surveillance camera inside the shop recorded the whole scene.


Bratislava
Man lies to media; is arrested

A MAN who called the operator of the public broadcaster Slovak Television (STV) on February 5 and threatened to detonate a bomb in the station was arrested a few hours later and faces five years in jail.
The suspect, 24, only named Peter by the police, comes from the Bratislava district of Dúbravka.
He called STV early in the morning and urged that everyone evacuate the premises to allow a police search for the bomb he claimed to have planted inside the building.
Police spokeswoman Silvia Miháliková said to the private SITA news agency that the man introduced himself as Miroslav.
"He demanded that we air an announcement that there was a bomb inside the station, which we did," said Branislav Záhradník, a member of STV's management.
The information was anno-unced during STV's regular Morning Magazine.
No bomb was found.
STV said that the damages caused by the incident amounted to Sk220,000 (€5,400), which they would demand from the would-be bomber.



WHEN a man cries wolf, they send in the dogs.
photo: TASR

Bratislava
Woman brought down by 30 kilos

A WOMAN from Bratislava has been charged with smuggling 30 kilograms of high quality heroin to Germany.
Police arrested the woman, Ingrid G, and during a search of her house found substantial evidence that she was involved in drug smuggling, police vice-president Jaroslav Spišiak said at a press conference on February 5.
The woman is believed to be a member of an international drug gang that smuggles drugs via the Balkan route from Turkey to Germany.
The woman was one of the last-known members of a gang targeted by an international police operation.
Police from Bosnia-Herzegovina, Hungary, Germany, and Slovakia participated in the operation, which led to the arrest of 26 people, 10 of whom were Slovaks.
The gang's Slovakia-based leader, the Albanian Diljaver S, 35, was sentenced to 10 years in jail by a German court several weeks ago.
"The other members of the gang can expect similar sentences," said Spišiak.



A YOUNG girl demonstrates what one is supposed to do with swans: admire them.
photo: TASR

Bratislava
Massacred swan found

VOLUNTEERS from a local bird protection society have pulled a swan torso from the Chorvátske rameno offshoot of the Danube River in Bratislava's suburb of Petržalka.
An unknown killer cut off the swan's wings and beak and then threw her back into the water. The state-run TASR news agency reported that the perpetrator probably used a machete or a large axe.
Police have started a search for the killer.


Lieskovec
Man goes to jail over 20 crowns

A MAN who slapped a 12-year old girl after she refused to give him Sk20 (€0.50) is now behind bars.
The incident took place in the central Slovak village of Lieskovec.
According to the Slovak daily Pravda, the 24-year-old Zvolen inhabitant met the girl in a local pub at the train station and demanded she give him Sk20. After she refused, arguing she needed the money for a train ticket, he slapped her and tore her jacket while pulling on her sleeve.



TRAIN police needed only go next door for illegal alcohol.
photo: TASR

Prešov
Illegal booze on sale in pawn shop

A DARING entrepreneur ran a pawn shop in a Prešov train station where he filled and sold bottles of illegal alcohol just a few metres from the train police office.
The police said that Štefan F, 43, had long been under an surveillance.
"We had been watching the pawn shop since last August. We wanted to be sure that we successfully nabbed him, so we decided to wait for the right opportunity," Vladimír Geňo, head of the train police in Prešov, said to the Slovak daily Nový Čas.
"We also apprehended one customer who regularly came to buy illegal alcohol," said Geňo.
Apart from illegal alcohol, filling equipment, labels, and smuggled cigarettes, police also obtained a list of Štefan F's customers.

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