Two men sentenced for coordinated thefts targeting elderly shoppers

A Swedish court has sentenced two men to prison for systematically stealing wallets and bank cards from elderly shoppers across eight municipalities, public broadcaster SVT reports.

The Gävle District Court ruled the thefts—targeting victims in Sala, Gävle, Härnösand, Uppsala, Kalix, Vännäs, Kramfors, and Säter—constituted aggravated offences due to their coordinated method and vulnerable victims. Both men, aged between 45 and 55, received two years and three months in prison, followed by deportation. They were also ordered to pay a combined 70,000 SEK (approx. 6,200 EUR) in damages to eight victims.

According to the verdict, the pair operated by distracting victims—often asking about products—while the other stole wallets from shopping trolleys or walkers. Surveillance footage from multiple stores provided key evidence. In some cases, stolen bank cards were immediately used to withdraw cash; one victim also had a mobile phone taken from their pocket.

Lisa Johansson of the Mid-Sweden Police’s crime coordination unit told SVT the men were identified after officers in Västerås recognised their vehicle from shared alerts between regions. One defendant was convicted of eight counts of aggravated theft and two counts of fraud, while the other faced eight theft charges and three fraud counts.