A cold-hearted crook who stole a medical courier’s chiller box of stem cells for cancer patients is being hunted by police.

The courier, reportedly a French national, had been taking the emergency package by train from the city of Arnhem, in the Netherlands to Germany on Monday, 13th November for life-saving treatments.

But, say police, when the express train stopped at a station in the city of Duisburg, North Rhine-Westphalia State, the thief snatched the box and ran off.

The 59-year-old courier chased the thief but lost him in the station’s evening commuter crowd, reports police.

Federal Police spokesperson Dajana Burmann said: “The 59-year-old immediately noticed the theft and tried to run after the offender.

“But it was unsuccessful, he got away.”

Police later found the dumped box at the east entrance of the Duisburg Central Station.

Burmann said in a statement obtained by Newsflash: “It was empty except for two blood donations.”

Meanwhile, officers screening CCTV security footage later identified the suspect.

Burman said: “The civil detectives knew the man from earlier thefts and were able to name him. The search for the suspect was unsuccessful.

“Criminal proceedings were initiated against the suspected suspect for the theft. The federal police started the investigation.”

She added: “The theft is also so senseless because the perpetrator can’t do anything with the stem cells.”