Man detained after Danish police crack public bench thefts

COPENHAGEN – Police in Denmark says a man is suspected of stealing 12 of Copenhagen’s green public benches that Danes instantly associate with the capital city.

Investigator Jesper Cederholm says the unidentified Dane, who was briefly detained Aug. 29, had confessed to stealing 12 benches out of a total of 65 benches that have gone missing and selling them online.

The benches had been reported stolen since mid-2016.

Copenhagen is home to about 3,000 of the green benches, which feature a dark grey painted iron frame with wrought swirls and weigh approximately 35 kilograms (77 pounds). They cost about 8,000 kroner ($1,250) each and were first introduced in the 1880s.

Cederholm said Thursday the case would now be brought to court after a three-month investigation.