Rogue dentist barred after 20-tooth incident

A dentist in Magdeburg lost his license in April after a patient awoke from general anaesthetic with 20 teeth missing. The rogue dentist had needlessly removed the teeth without permission.

Look-alike prisoner gets cell-mate's release

In May an investigation was launched after a prisoner escaped from jail by having a haircut. The 32-year-old was not due for release but simply walked out of jail by having the same style haircut as his lookalike cell-mate who was.

Emotions high at start of neo-Nazi murder trial

Germany’s biggest ever neo-Nazi murder trial began in May. 38-year-old Beate Zschäpewas accused of being a member of the National Socialist Underground (NSU). She was suspected of taking part in the murder of nine immigrant shop owners as well as a policewoman.  

Cops 'arrest mystery autobahn shooter'

A mystery motorway shooter was arrested in June for firing from his car at oncoming vehicles across Germany. He had been doing it for five years and police had received over 700 reports of shots being fired at cars and lorries.

Cops 'turn' Trojan elephant in drug drama

Two young drug smugglers thought they had got away with it when in July a drug-filled wooden elephant arrived as planned in Saarbrücken. What they didn’t know is that the elephant had been busted en route. Police came knocking.

Woman 'killed partner's dad and cut up body'

In July a woman in Hamburg strangled her partner’s father, chopped up his body and buried him – and all because of a row over the washing up.

Ibiza phone thief 'world's most stupid'

A phone thief was made to look rather foolish in August when the German tourist to whom it belonged got her own back. The thief had forgotten to turn off the automatic camera upload function so she created a blog documenting the man’s day-to-day life with pictures and videos taken on the device.

Mystery surrounds €1 billion Nazi art trove

When nearly 1,500 paintings, including pieces by Picasso and Matisse, were discovered in a Munich flat in November, a search began to track down their rightful owners. The works were believed to have been stolen by the Nazis from Jewish collectors.

Policeman 'killed man he met on cannibal site'

In November a policeman in Saxony was arrested for suspected murder after he allegedly chopped up a man he met on a cannibal website. He buried the body parts in his garden.

Berlin thieves steal 300 phones in one minute

A bold but well executed robbery in central Berlin ended with thieves stealing 300 mobile phones in just one minute. In December a group of four men ploughed a car through the glass doors of a shopping centre and charged into a new electronics store, bagging as many handsets as they could.