DNA leads police to salami-loving thief

A Bulgarian cook cuts slices from a large Mortadela salami in central Sofia, December 20, 2004.

BERLIN (Reuters) - German authorities were able to pin a burglary committed in April on a suspected serial thief after he left a half-eaten slice of salami carrying a sliver of his DNA at a crime scene, police said on Thursday.

The 37-year-old Romanian man is accused of breaking into a workshop office in the western city of Darmstadt, stealing cash and two locks and causing damage worth around 3,400 euros (2,500 pounds), Suedhessen police spokesman Ferdinand Derigs said.

"He didn't bring the salami with him -- it was just lying around in the office," Derigs said.

The man was already wanted in connection with 19 burglaries and had been taken into custody in January after a routine police road check, he added. Investigations are continuing.

(Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Paul Casciato)