Five young men arrested in Prague earlier this week were well known to their local police department in east Jutland. Several of them live or spend time in the notorious Bispehaven neighbourhood.
The five men were arrested on Tuesday night by Czech police for kicking down doors in a number of hotel rooms. Czech police said that at least 11 rooms were broken into and that a computer was stolen from a hotel guest.
“We do not know the details of the Prague case, but we can safely say that the five men that they arrested are well-known here at home,” Jens Espensen, the head of the Aarhus Vest police department told Jyllands-Posten. “I can just say that we know them quite well from Bispehaven. I would even add that we know them personally.”
Phoney high schoolers
The five men apparently travelled to Prague on the pretext that they attend high school in Aarhus, which is not the case. One of the five travelled using his brother's passport, which created confusion regarding his identity. His brother is in prison in Denmark.
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East Jutland Police report that the five men are back in Aarhus. They were not prosecuted in the Czech Republic. Czech police sent them back to Denmark after they had paid fines and damages to the hotel.
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Ambassador apologises
Christian Hoppe, the Danish ambassador to the Czech Republic, apologised for the incident.
“It is deeply regrettable that Danish citizens are destroying furniture in the hotels. It is simply wrong,” he told Jyllands-Posten.
Hoppe noted that the Danish youth winter visit to Prague this year had for the most part been more peaceful than in previous years.
