Coffinjacking triggers bureaucracy

12 coffins destined to cremation in a crematorium in Meissen, Saxony were stolen in mid October during organized car theft in Berlin.
Apparently thieves seized an opportunity when the driver finished loading the car and went to wash his hands. The police says there was no faultin the driver, as he locked the car before he left.
The cars were found several days later, in Poland, yet locating the coffin car took most time. It was located near Jarocin, western Poland. The coffins, found dropped in the forrest near Krolikow, near Konin, central Poland, seemed untouched, yet they needed to be re-opened and examined by the ME in Poznan.
Two men suspected of the theft, apparently reoffenders, aged 25 and 27, were arrested a few days after finding the cars. Two other men involved in organizing the theft are still being searched for.
However, for families of the deceased the aggravation is not over yet. The bodies of their loved ones are being kept in Forensic Medicine Office in Poznan. According to Cyryla Staszewska, a spokesperson of Sanitary Inspectorate in Poznan, the coffins are illegal in Poland and for them to be returned to their families according to law, some Polish procedures need to be observed, including presenting certificate of death and an application requesting the bodies.
As for now, the prosecutor's office has not received appropriate documents, said prosecutor Jan Chodecki, a chief of Poznań-Grunwald Prosecutor's Office, holding and investigation regarding illegal corpse disposal.
We are very well aware of the trauma the families of the deceased are undergoing, yet the law strictly regulates procedures of handing over the bodies, said Staszewska, adding that the Inspectorate is willing to approve transport to Germany as soon as documents arrive.
It is said the bodies will be returned to Germany this week.