January 31, 2008

BERLIN (Reuters) - German authorities were able to pin a burglary committed in April on a suspected serial thief after he left a half-eaten slice of salami carrying a sliver of his DNA at a crime scene, police said Thursday.

The 37-year-old Romanian man is accused of breaking into a workshop office in the western city of Darmstadt, stealing cash and two locks and causing damage worth around 3,400 euros ($5,055), Suedhessen police spokesman Ferdinand Derigs said. "He didn't bring the salami with him -- it was just lying around in the office," Derigs said.

The man was already wanted in connection with 19 burglaries and had been taken into custody in January after a routine police road check, he added. Investigations are continuing.

(Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Paul Casciato)

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Editor's Note: I'd risk some time in the clink for a good piece of salami.