A European arrest warrant was issued for two Romanian citizens who allegedly stole luxury watches from a store in Strasbourg, eastern France, on December 27, and got arrested in Austria the following day, reports local Hotnews.ro.

The two arrested Romanians, aged 20 and 22, are accused of being part of an organized group of 6-8 people who managed to break all the windows of the luxury store in Strasbourg, stealing 37 watches with a total value of EUR 230,000.

One of the cars identified by the police as belonging to the group was stopped on a highway in eastern Austria and the watches were found inside the car.

Hotnews.ro reports that the two suspects, who deny the accusations, were arrested in Sankt-Polten.

“If the Austrian authorities accept to surrender them, they could be indicted in the coming weeks,” according to a source close to the investigation, quoted by Hotnews.ro.

The two young Romanians are suspected of taking part in another theft that took place in France on October 4, 2013.

Irina Popescu, irina.popescu@romania-insider.com