Eight men who were sentenced to years in prison a few months ago demanded, listen today to the court verdict in the case. Justice suspects a total of 13 suspects, but the court rules against eight of them. The men are suspected of being involved in the robbery of a security transport in North May 2021.
The lawsuit against the suspects starts a few months after the failed gold robbery on a security transport at Schöne Edelmetaal. The perpetrators will leave in mid-May 2021 with a loot of more than 12 million euros. With screeching tires and shooting into the air, they make their way through Noord to eventually strand in the meadows near Broek in Waterland.
Suspects from France, Belgium and Morocco
The police chase the seven robbers and arrest six men. One of the men, a 47-year-old Frenchman, is shot dead by the police. In the aftermath of the robbery, the police managed to arrest two more suspects.
The suspects come from France, Belgium and Morocco and are preparing the gold robbery down to the last detail, according to the Public Prosecution Service (OM). During the preparation, images were shown of the place that had to be raided. In addition, there was advance information about how long the robbers had to wait after the security transport had entered the company. Three robbers drove to the Meeuwenlaan the day before the robbery, where one of them touched the door of the company. In Belgium it was then decided that the entrance door would be rammed with a Porsche Cayenne.
Weapons, shooting vests and nails
In an apartment in Antwerp, where the preparations are said to have been made, automatic weapons, small arms, balaclavas, shooting vests, a grinder and nails to puncture tires are found. According to the Public Prosecution Service, two getaway cars also visited the apartment. Both vehicles were equipped with a jerry can of petrol.
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The robbery of the security transport on the Meeuwenlaan was – according to plan – very violent. Employees of Brinks and Schöne Edelmetaal were tied up and threatened with automatic weapons. Officers who approached had to keep their distance because they were shot at with automatic fire.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, 45-year-old Hamza B. had a coordinating role. For example, he is already in Amsterdam in April, the police suspect, to make drone images of the Brinks security transport that visits the Meeuwenlaan at regular intervals. On May 19, he is said to have supervised the operation from a safe distance and eventually manages to flee to France himself. There he is later arrested and extradited to the Netherlands. Yet he was not the commissioner of the robbery, in interrogations with suspects it is regularly referred to as ‘a black African’ who was involved in the preparations.
During the substantive treatment of the criminal case against the eight suspects, the Public Prosecution Service demanded a prison sentence of up to eighteen years. Of all suspects, only Mirand A. will receive a lower sentence. He is only accused of being an accomplice to the robbery for which the Public Prosecution Service is demanding five years.
Attempted manslaughter
It is clear that there is a violent robbery, the question that the court is mainly considering is whether the robbers shot at officers during their flight.” Some of the suspects stated that they only shot in the air, but a very large part of the officers say that shots were targeted,” said Justine Asbroek of the Public Prosecution Service earlier. That is why the eight suspects are not only prosecuted for the robbery, but also for attempted manslaughter. ‘Qualified’ manslaughter, the prosecutor calls it. “After the robbery, the suspects, in an attempt to flee and secure the loot, tried to kill police officers,” said Asbroek.
“Of course it’s normal to be shocked when you see a gun and hear bullets”
But the defense denies that, according to them, the robbers weren’t trying to kill anyone. They would only have used violence to scare people off.
The lawyers feel strengthened by forensic research. It shows that only police bullets hit cars or houses. “Of course it is normal to be shocked when you see a weapon and hear bullets,” says lawyer Jan-Hein Kuijpers, lawyer for suspect Hachmi el A. “But if an investigation shows that no bullet holes were found then there is a chance that the statements of the suspects could be correct,” said the counsel.
Five other suspects
Eight men will hear the verdict of the court in their case today, but in the eyes of the judiciary at least 13 people were involved in the failed gold robbery. One of them, 37-year-old Fatih A., was arrested on May 10, 2022. An introductory hearing is scheduled in his case at the beginning of April.
Another female suspect from Belgium was arrested on January 7, 2022. The court’s council chamber recently lifted her pre-trial detention.
Two men from Belgium have been arrested abroad, the judiciary is still looking for one fugitive.
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