Police warn against vigilantism after Rebelwerks burglary

A burglar broke into YouTuber Aatu Turpeinen’s industrial hall in July and stole property worth about 10,000 euros, Yle reports. Turpeinen, known online as Rebelwerks, identified the suspected offender using surveillance footage and online services, while his followers began sharing the suspect’s personal details online.

Turpeinen was travelling in Iceland with his partner when he learned that the hall had been broken into. The window in the door had been smashed, and a car had been driven inside and loaded with stolen goods.

The stolen items included a large quantity of relatively new cordless tools, tool sets and camera equipment. Some of the tools had been Christmas gifts from viewers, Turpeinen said.

Unable to find a practical way to return immediately to Finland, Turpeinen began examining the surveillance footage. The suspect had covered the car’s registration plates with tape, but some numbers remained slightly visible.

Using online registration-number services, vehicle parts websites, artificial intelligence and image searches, Turpeinen eventually identified the car. He passed the information to police.

Tero Väyrynen, head of communications for the Oulu Police Department, confirmed that the information helped police trace a suspect living in another part of Finland. The suspect admitted the offence during questioning.

Police recovered some of the stolen property in early July, but much of it remains missing. Väyrynen said the suspect does not admit to stealing as much as Turpeinen reported. The case is being investigated as aggravated theft because of the value of the property.

Turpeinen has about 260,000 followers on YouTube and more than 200,000 on TikTok. After the burglary, some followers searched for videos advertising goods for sale and began sharing the suspect’s name, photograph and address online.

Väyrynen warned followers not to take the law into their own hands. People who share personal information or try to investigate and punish the suspect themselves could also commit an offence, he said.

Police welcome tips and other information, but will investigate the case and the courts will ultimately decide any sentence. Väyrynen urged people who had shared the suspect’s details to delete their posts.

Turpeinen also called on his followers to leave the suspect alone and allow police to handle the investigation.