Dutch police arrested a gang of elegantly dressed bandits after they used hammers to smash the shop window where there was jewelry during a daylight art fair in the Netherlands. After a manhunt, two of them were captured
Elegantly dressed robbers so as not to arouse suspicion, last night (Tuesday) they robbed in broad daylight at an international art fair in the city of Maastricht in the south of the Netherlands. The thieves used a hammer to smash a jewelry showcase and escaped with the jewelry. Police said they have arrested two suspects and are on the hunt for two more. The robbery led to the evacuation of frightened visitors from the prestigious European Art Fair (TEFAF) in the city.
Media outlets in the Netherlands reported that the shop window into which the robbers broke in contained diamond jewelry and other items by London jeweler Symbolic and Chase.
Dramatic documentation shows the four suspects wearing flat hats, glasses and jackets threatening visitors with guns during the robbery, before fleeing. The phrase “Peaky Blinders” has become a trend on social media in the Netherlands following the robbery, as the hats worn by the suspects are similar to those worn by members of a crime family in a British historical drama about a dominant family of criminals in early 20th century Britain.
One of the elegantly dressed men is seen using a hammer to smash the glass showcase of the London jewelery stand. The suspect was seen repeatedly hitting the armored glass at least 12 times as alarms rang incessantly, with three other men, who were also wearing blazers, flat hats and glasses, standing around him.
One man is seen running towards the men and picking up a vase full of flowers and it looks like he is ready to throw it at the robbers. But two of the men on guard waved what looked like guns and he recoiled. He quickly dropped the vase and walked away from the robbers.
The suspect with the hammer finally shattered the glass, reached out to pick up something and put it in the bag. The men then fled past a frightened elderly man, who was sitting nearby on a bench throughout the drama. Visitors were quickly evacuated from the fair following the robbery, the place reopened later.
Police closed nearby roads and a central road tunnel to search for the suspects immediately afterwards, four police vehicles stopped a gray car with a foreign registration number on the nearby A2 motorway and police arrested two suspects.