Home / Poker News March 2010 / EPT Berlin robbery details unfolding
EPT Berlin robbery details unfolding
Posted by: James Carter. - Thu, 2010-03-18 06:18
The daredevil, broad-daylight robbery that marred the 4th day of the biggest ever live poker tournament on German soil was an extremely interesting affair. For some reason, details about the exact number of perpetrators, the weapons used and the amount of money stolen were extremely scarce and contradicting. Apparently details about the deed were held back pending investigation, and now, as one of the alleged robbers decided to come forth, a clearer picture is starting to emerge.
The suspect who turned himself in is a 21 year old German, who admitted to taking part in the robbery. He provided quite a few details to police and he pointed to three accomplices. Ahmad el-Awaiti, Jihad Chetwie and Mustafa Ucarcus are the names of those involved. Ucarcus is a Turkish citizen, Chetwie is a German and el-Awaiti’s nationality is currently unknown. Photos of the three perpetrators have been made public.
The detained suspect has given investigators a thorough insight into what really had happened. The 4 perpetrators staked out the area before striking. Once they saw the guards in charge of security at the
PokerStars EPT were unarmed, they saw a chance which they decided to seize. They burst into the registration area where the money was held and after a brief struggle, they made off with about $332,000 which they divided equally almost immediately.
They used a Mercedes as a getaway car. The car has been found by authorities. The suspect agreed to pay back his share of the stolen money, which is currently held by a third party.
Whether the incident will cast a cloud over live
poker tournaments to be organized in Germany in the future remains to be seen. The fact that nobody was hurt in the incident and that they apparently never intended to cause any collateral damage will probably be considered a lenient circumstance for the robbers, provided they turn themselves in too.
The incident also raised awareness towards the need for better equipped and possibly more numerous security personnel at such high-profile live poker events.
I suppose we’ll see whether or not the organizers have learned their lessons, when the
EPTs next stop kicks off on March 21st at the Alpine Palace in Snowfest.
