Police in Vienna moved against a pickpocketing wave after a surge of reports at the same police inspection in the first district. On 23.10.2026, officers said they noticed an unusually high number of theft complaints in a short time. They went to the area in plain clothes and began an observation. Within a short time, police spotted three youths, two girls and one boy, as they allegedly pressured an elderly woman. The trio was stopped and questioned on the spot. None of the suspects had identification. All three claimed they were 11 years old, but an official doctor was brought in to estimate their age. For one of the girls, officers used a photo and her suspected identity to trigger an international check, with a high probability she is a 19-year-old Croatian national. The second girl’s medical assessment found a minimum age of 15, and she said she is Italian. The third suspect is described as an 11-year-old Italian national. Video analysis helped police link the group to multiple thefts. An officer also said he recognized the 11-year-old, after suspecting him as a participant in an attempted theft at a clothing shop on the same day. The two girls were placed in pre-trial detention. The boy was handed over to the MA11 because he was in Austria without his legal guardians. Further investigations are under way, Vienna police said.