The robbery in May happened in broad daylight, with the use of extreme violence by the perpetrators. Using automatic rifles, they plundered the contents of an armoured vehicle, which was stationed on the premises of the trading company.

Shortly after the holdup, the Dutch police managed to arrest six suspects of Belgian and French nationality. One suspect died during the police pursuit. Other suspects managed to escape, and the JIT was set up to coordinate the investigations into their whereabouts and prepare for the arrests. After the heist, the suspects escaped with precious metals with an estimated value of approximately EUR 14 million, of which the majority has already been recovered.

In addition to supporting the JIT, Eurojust organised two coordination meetings to prepare for the action day. The Dutch, Belgian and French National Desks at the Agency were on continuous standby to further coordinate and facilitate cross-border judicial support to the authorities involved.

The action day was coordinated by the Public Prosecutor’s Office (PPO) of Amsterdam and the National Prosecution Service (Landelijk Parket) of the Netherlands, with support of the National Police. In Belgium, the PPO of Brussels led the operation, with support of the Federal Judiciary Police of Brussels (Federale Gerechtelijke Politie/Police Judiciaire Fédérale).

In France, the action day was carried out by the National Jurisdiction against Organised Crime (JUNALCO) and the Central Directorate of Judicial Police of the National Police, OCLCO department (Police Nationale, Direction de la Police Judiciaire).