Thieves steal 5 million cigarettes from sleeping driver’s truck in Germany

5 million cigarettes stolen from truck in Germany

BERLIN — Thieves have stolen more than 5 million cigarettes from a truck at a highway rest area in western Germany as its driver slept in the cab.

Police said Tuesday that the thieves spirited away the cigarettes at some point during the night — emptying about half of the vehicle’s trailer. They believe the booty was loaded onto other vehicles and driven away.

The 35-year-old Polish driver had parked his vehicle at a rest area on the A2 highway near Dortmund. Police said the stolen cigarettes likely were worth more than €1 million ($1.35 million).