German police say they have solved a nine-year-old burglary after DNA found on a half-eaten piece of sausage matched that of a man detained in France over an unrelated crime.

Police in the western town of Schwelm said that the sausage belonged to the victim, and the suspect, a 30-year-old Albanian citizen, appeared to have helped himself to a bite during the March 2012 break-in.

It was not clear what type of sausage, known in Germany as wurst, the burglar had nibbled, though police said it was a hard variety.

Investigators were recently alerted that French police had taken a matching DNA sample from a man involved in a violent crime.

But 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.