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A Very Raw Deal

Conmen Pass Off Potatoes as Laptops

Two German men who spent €620 thinking they were getting a great deal on second-hand laptops and mobile phones ended up with a bag containing four kilos of potatoes.

Two German men who thought they were buying second-hand laptops and mobile phones ended up with a bag full of potatoes -- after handing over €620 ($866), German police said on Tuesday.

The two bargain hunters, aged 26 and 31, were standing outside a hairdressers' salon in Braunschweig, northern Germany, when three men sitting in a car beckoned them over and showed them a treasure trove of laptops, mobile phones and digital cameras.

After negotiating the purchase of two laptops and a number of phones, the buyers handed over the cash and received a heavy laptop bag.

"When the buyers wanted to proudly present their purchase to a friend, they found only potatoes in the bag," police said. The sellers had managed to swap the bag without their customers noticing.

Police said the three sellers were aged 20 to 30, had blonde hair and spoke English and that the number plate was probably British.

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