Russian troops took home about 6 billion Deutsche marks ($4 billion) in criminal earnings in the course of their four-year pullout from eastern Germany which ended last August, German television reported Thursday.


The NDR network reported that about 5,000 luxury cars had been stolen every year and flown to Russia from the army's W--nsdorf headquarters -- out of the reach of German investigators.


"It couldn't have been done without the cooperation of the [Russian] officers," television quoted criminal investigator J--rgen Albrecht as saying.


It also cited customs authorities who reported hundreds of millions of marks in lost tax and duty as the troops sold illegally fuel, cigarettes and alcohol bought tax-free for military use.


Berlin state prosecutor Ulf-Hartwig Hagemann said one single fraudulent deal with electronic goods had cost the state up to 35 million marks, adding that "the cases clearly show the participation or knowledge of generals."


The former commander in Germany, General Matvei Burlakov, was sacked from his job as deputy defense minister by President Boris Yeltsin.