Near St. Margrethen Customs catch thieves - they hid expensive jewelry in bread

Swiss customs made an unusual discovery at the St. Margrethen border crossing: two men apparently wanted to leave the country with burglary jewelry - hidden in a loaf of bread. The St. Gallen cantonal police have launched an investigation.

On Monday morning, officers from the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS) stopped an outbound vehicle at the St. Margrethen border crossing. The car with a French license plate was routinely checked - and the check quickly led to suspicions.

The customs officers discovered several pieces of jewelry, watches and a gold Vreneli in the engine compartment and in the interior. Some of it was found in a completely unexpected place: carefully wrapped in a loaf of bread.

Initial investigations revealed that the jewelry had been stolen during a burglary in the canton of Zurich. The two occupants of the vehicle - both Romanian nationals - were arrested and handed over to the St. Gallen cantonal police. They in turn forwarded the case to the Zurich cantonal police, who are conducting the investigation.

Whether the two men were directly involved in the burglary or were merely transporting the jewelry is now being clarified. The police have not yet provided any information about other people involved.