Investigators in the western town of Schwelm were alerted after a matching DNA sample was taken from a 30-year-old Albanian arrested in France for an unrelated violent crime.
They believe the thief took a bite out of the sausage during the March 2012 break-in. It was not clear what type of sausage, known in Germany as wurst, the burglar had nibbled. Police said it was a hard variety.
A statement from the Nordrhein-Westfalen force read: “There was a complete break-in in the Rocholzallee in Gevelsberg at night. When securing evidence at the crime scene, detectives found a bitten piece of sausage on which DNA could be secured.
“Back then, the DNA pattern did not produce a direct hit. However, an automatic comparison with the international databases currently led to an assignment.
“The perpetrator was a man from Albania, now 30 years old. His DNA was added to a database in France this year after a violent crime.”
Despite the breakthrough, Schwelm police said the suspect remains free and he may yet escape punishment.
The statute of limitations on the burglary has expired, meaning he will likely not be extradited to Germany.
