Policewoman Makes Blind Date to Nab Thief

Oct 23, 9:13 am ET

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German policewoman snared a wanted criminal after she arranged a blind date with him, police said Tuesday.

The policewoman found the 29-year-old man's mobile phone number and landed a date after flirting with him, said a police spokesman.

"It all began as a wrong number call, which then turned into a conversation, and eventually a date in a bar downtown," he said.

The criminal -- wanted in the town of Recklinghausen, north of Cologne, for crimes worth a total of three years behind bars if he is convicted -- not only fell for the ploy, but turned up "all dressed up," he said.

The policewoman arrested the man at the end of the date, surrounded by other police officers who had been posing as fellow revelers.

The police spokesman could not confirm whether there had been mutual attraction. He said: "In any case, it was all purely professional."