Bizarre images of an argument that seems to just happen at a scrap yard in Helmond have been viewed more than two million times on social media. In the video, four angry men surround a van parked on the property. One of those men throws a cup of coffee on the driver’s window, while the others kick the car and bang on the window. Leendert Gerrits, owner of the Helmond Scrap Trade, states that there is more going on than seems. “It affects us too.”
According to Leendert Gerrits, it concerns a man who came to hand in stolen car wrecks to earn a few bucks. “He came by for the first time last Saturday,” says the owner of the scrap yard. “We immediately suspected that the car had been stolen. The chassis number had been scratched off and there were still all kinds of personal items inside.” Gerrits managed to track down the owners of the stolen car and was later able to return their belongings.
But it didn’t stop there. Last Friday the same man appeared again with a suspected stolen car. “We immediately called the police, who also came by,” says Gerrits. “Officers were unable to confirm at the time that the vehicle had been stolen, but said they were beginning an investigation.” Gerrits was then told that he had to try to solve the problem himself, because the police could do nothing further. “I then sent the man away, because I don’t want stolen goods at my company.”
“Then it suddenly became strange.”
Yet the problem was not so easily solved. The man refused to take the car back and dumped the wreckage on the property anyway. “I then loaded it back onto his van, because I’m not going to accept it,” says Gerrits. “Then it suddenly became strange: he locked himself in his car and seemed to grab something from his dashboard. That’s why we stood around the car.”
The video of that moment is now circulating on social media and has already been viewed more than 2 million times. Gerrits thinks it is a shame that many of those viewers do not know the real story. “We are all trying to run a company, and then a video like this comes online. We hope that the police take action, because we are also concerned when people have their things stolen.”
The police confirm to Omroep Brabant that they have been to the scrap yard. They were unable to determine that the car was stolen. That is why no one has been arrested. A spokesperson said he cannot say anything about any ongoing investigation. According to police, it appears that neither party has filed a report.
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