Three suspects have been detained after handbags and jewellery were stolen from an antique store in the West Flemish city of Kortrijk. Last year criminals were able to steal goods worth several hundred thousand euro through a hole in the wall that separated the antique store from adject building that used to be a bank. The thiefs wormed their way through the hole and were able to take handbags worth around 200,000 euro and a large quantity of jewellery.
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Handbags worth 200,000 euro stolen through a hole in the wall of a Kortrijk antique shop
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The theft was reminiscent of something that normally only happens in films. During the last weekend of February 2022 thieves entered a Kortrijk antique store through a hole made in the wall between the store and an empty building that used to house a bank. In addition to 84 handbags, they also took 15 Hermes bracelets, 2 gold rings and 2 very expensive Jaeger Coultre watches. The value of the handbags is estimated to be around 200,000 euro. It is difficult to put a price on the total value of the jewelry stolen.
The hole made in the wall between the former bank and the antique store was not at big, but probably just big enough for a small person to able to worm their way through. The victim of theft had seen that some of the stollen handbags were on sale on a Romanian online sales platform that has an address in Bucharest. A European search warrant was issued and some of the stolen handbags were found.
Three suspects were eventually detained. One of them was apprehended in The Netherlands and has been in custody since 10 February. The two other suspects were apprehended in France. The West Flemish Judicial Authorities have requested that all three be sent to Belgium.