Sint-Niklaas (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Sint-Niklaas police have arrested five suspects and recovered €22,000 worth of stolen gold jewelry hidden in a car following a brazen midday theft at a Knokke-Heist luxury dealer, with the Sint-Niklaas PROA team leading the rapid intervention
How did the theft unfold at La Mine de Diamant?
The robbery took place on a Wednesday afternoon at La Mine de Diamant, a store selling secondhand luxury goods located on Lippenslaan in Knokke-Heist, run by Vildan Maksuti, 37 years old. When the robbery took place, the shop was packed with customers, but the robbers took the opportunity when the owner’s attention was not on him. Maksuti stated that he was attending to a customer that came to sell gold when the robbers took the opportunity.
“Everything happened in the blink of an eye,”
said Maksuti, describing how the cabinet containing the items was out of his direct sight for just two seconds. He stressed that the group was not acting in a suspicious manner but rather mingled with other customers before committing the crime. The stolen goods comprised a gold watch and solid gold bracelet worth €22,000.
Who were the suspects and how were they caught?
Within just minutes following the heist, police found a rental car connected with the crime and started a chase. The PROA unit in the Sint-Niklaas police area stopped the car immediately after the crime took place and made the arrest of all five suspects inside the car. There were four suspects who were comprised of a woman from Spain, a woman from Portugal, two men from Colombia, and one man from Nicaragua aged between 26 and 58 years.
Maksuti expressed immense relief upon learning that his items had been retrieved, stating,
“I am enormously relieved that the items are back… This is also a lesson. From now on the cabinets will remain fully locked.”
He also praised the police response, noting,
“My thanks to the police are enormous. Their intervention deserves a lot of respect.”
What charges have been filed and what happens next?
As revealed by the prosecuting attorney’s office in West Flanders, the suspects in the matter have been involved in a coordinated act of crime. This is due to the fact that the suspects managed to escape from the scene of the crime after committing the offense. In light of this, the five suspects were arraigned before the investigating judge in Bruges for theft and belonging to a criminal association. The suspects have been ordered to be held in custody for further investigations and will appear before the chamber of indictment (raadkamer) on Tuesday, 8 September 2026.
