Traveling Burglars Staging Break-Ins Around Iceland

Police reports compiled over the past month indicate that there are burglars, numbering at least two, who are currently travelling around Iceland and breaking into people’s homes. They have attempted or perpetrated break-ins in homes all over the country, using the same MO each time.

Fréttablaðið reports that police in East Iceland are on the lookout for a pair of burglars. They appear to be two men in their 20s and 30s, one of whom has a dark beard and is 180cm tall. They reportedly speak English, but those who have spoken with them say they are clearly not from an English-speaking country.

According to police reports, the two knock on the doors of random homes. If someone answers, they say they are looking for accommodation. If no one answers, they break in, and steal whatever valuables they can find.

If this sounds familiar, it should. Police in South Iceland reported break-ins around Skaftárhreppur using the same MO earlier this month. Slightly earlier, North Iceland police also reported that random doors were being knocked on asking for accommodation, with the inquirers never checking in to guesthouses they were pointed towards.

As such, it appears likely that there are at least two men traveling all around Iceland looking for homes to break into. As locals are being advised to call the police in the event a stranger shows up at their door looking for a guesthouse, we advise our readers to refrain from engaging in this practice, in order to avoid awkward conversations with the police.

Last February, there were a rash of break-ins in the greater Reykjavík area, but concerted attention and the vigilante actions of residents led to those break-ins falling sharply off by the beginning of spring.