One of the main suspects of the New Year’s Eve sex attacks in Cologne has been arrested in Switzerland.
A 19-year-old Moroccan, thought to be one of six main suspects behind the attacks, was arrested in the town of Kreuzlingen after allegedly shoplifting goods worth €24 (£18) from a supermarket in Konstanz in south-west Germany and then crossing the nearby border.
A border guard had identified the man as one of the Cologne suspects after a shop detective followed him and called the police.
The attacks, committed in a crowd of mostly north African men during New Year’s Eve celebrations at Cologne’s central station, have resulted in more than 1,100 criminal complaints, including 480 for sexual assault, and had a major impact on the political debate around the refugee crisis in Europe.
The suspect is being detained in Kreuzlingen but is expected to be extradited to Germany under the European arrest warrant.