A huge havoc at Juwelier Franc Cortenbach from Waalwijk after a burglary Monday night. The jeweler was called at night that the alarm had gone off in his case. Once arrived at his case, the havoc was not forgotten: thirteen showcases were short and small. Cortenbach does not let himself be beaten: “I don’t let myself be small.”
On Tuesday morning he was allowed to return to his business. “Before that, the police investigated in the store,” says the jeweler. Once in his store it turned out how big the mess was. “The shutters were broken open by several perpetrators with a jack and 13 showcases have been smashed with a hammer.”
There are glass fragments everywhere and the front door is boarded up with shelves. Yet Cortenbach does not yet know what the precise damage is. “The criminal investigation is just gone, so I have to take a look at it. Fortunately, not all the valuables were in the showcases, but in a safe,” the entrepreneur tells Omroep Brabant.
The havoc in the case can be seen on these images:
While the jeweler is in the middle of his cause beaten, he does not yet fully realize what happened to him. “That still needs to be a little bit, it is unreal,” he says defeated. “Fortunately there are camera images. They are in the hands of the police.”
Tied up for robbery
It is already the second time in a few years that criminals have been aiming at the Cortenbach case. His case was attacked in 2019. “The difference was then that the robbers had also taken it on me and my wife.”
They were mistreated and tied by three men, who then entered their jewelry store. The entrepreneur then spoke of a ‘horror film’. “That chopped in,” he continues. “We also had mentally problems with that. Now it is fortunately only material damage.”
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After the robbery in 2019, Franc and his wife moved. They first lived above the case. “It’s not fun, but it’s the reality,” says the jeweler.
“If you are in this profession, you know that things like this will happen.” Despite the misery, he is not thinking of stopping: “I don’t let myself be small. I just continue with this grateful profession.
He would prefer to open the jeweler again tomorrow, but that is not yet possible. “This week I have to stay closed to repair all damage.”
