Comedian Felix Lobrecht (37) has had an exhausting summer, as he reveals in the latest episode of his podcast "Gemischtes Hack", which he records together with Tommi Schmitt (27). One of the reasons: his Berlin apartment was burglarized. He describes the incident in detail.
He came home around 10:30 p.m., Lobrecht recounts. He hadn't been out for long before that. When he was about to unlock his apartment door, someone suddenly grabbed him by the shoulder. Behind him stood a young man who said: "Don't be alarmed, detective." Then he added: "Don't be alarmed when you go inside, your place was burglarized. The whole apartment is full of officers."
Twelve police officers - in plain clothes and uniform - were waiting for him inside the apartment. He was completely overwhelmed by the situation. The whole thing felt "like a movie", the 37-year-old reports.
Smoke detector likely saved the safe
Inside the apartment, he was met with a scene of devastation: his belongings were scattered across the rooms, all cabinets had been rummaged through. Added to that was an acrid smell of smoke, the cause of which quickly became clear. The burglars had apparently tried to cut open the safe with an angle grinder. However, the resulting smoke triggered the fire alarm - whose noise presumably scared off the perpetrators. The safe remained locked, and fortunately he had kept all valuables in it, Lobrecht reports.
According to neighbors, two men disguised as construction workers climbed up scaffolding that surrounded the entire building to reach his terrace. They later fled through the window and down the same scaffolding. The neighbors alerted the police and captured the men on photos and videos. Lobrecht only recognized the backpacks, including one from Louis Vuitton, because they belonged to him.
Tracking led to Treptow
While cleaning up, he noticed that his AirPods had also disappeared. They can be tracked, and indeed the tracking signal came from Treptow. Together with what he describes as an "extremely helpful and nice police force", he drove there that same evening and went "on a criminal hunt", though without success.
The next day, a second attempt was made, this time with plainclothes officers. Lobrecht remembered that the headphones can play a signal tone, though that would only be useful once: afterwards, the perpetrators would know someone was searching for the devices. Backup was requested, then the location suddenly moved toward Neukölln. The convoy followed until suspicion focused on a car. A license plate check revealed that the owner was already known to police for thefts and burglaries. From that clue on, it became "really exciting" and was also "fun", the comedian admits about the search for the perpetrators.
"He's not talking"
During the inspection, officers found the headphones in the trunk, plus a sweater that had been visible in one of the neighbors' photos. The man acted "totally relaxed" and claimed to have bought the AirPods from a junkie. The police can now prove that he is one of the alleged burglars, Lobrecht says, adding himself: "You always have to say allegedly. He's not talking." The second man and most of the loot have not yet surfaced. "I want my stuff back", Lobrecht emphasizes.
Still, the comedian doesn't feel safe in his own four walls. He is "completely paranoid". He had cameras and an alarm system installed, the apartment is now "like Fort Knox". His already poor sleep hasn't improved either. The home still feels "tainted and unsafe", whether he can stay there or has to move, he doesn't yet know. At least: the scaffolding has since been removed.
