Fugitive duo caught in Germany
The fugitive Dutch couple, Antonio Marcos van der Ploeg and Enise Merve Bircan were arrested by German police Wednesday afternoon, in a hotel in Schwerte, near Dortmund, after police were tipped off about their location, announced a police spokesperson. Police immediately responded to the tip and were able to arrest the two without any problems.
In fact the arrest was rather uneventful, although a firearm was found, according to the spokesperson. The two, who were already nicknamed Bonnie and Clyde, had been apprehended by the North Netherlands police, during a wild chase in Groningen two months ago, but were released shortly after because they didn't have any outstanding convictions and no weapons were found. They had tried to flee from a police inspection in Aduard and eventually crashed into a parked car. They were apprehended after they tried to continue their flight afoot. Their car had a fake license plate. Van der Ploeg and Bircan robbed a woman in her home in Meppel on February 10, after which they took her along as a hostage in her own car. They released her the next day in the woods near Lelystad. Only a week later they struck again, this time robbing a family of 4 under the threat of a firearm. Especially Van der Ploeg is quick to shoot, as he proved when he shot a man on Monday, when they were caught during a burglary attempt. That same evening, they robbed a family of 4 in Enschede, tying the mother and children up and again taking the father along in his car, as a hostage. He was set free in a village across the German border. Dutch and German police thanked the public for their help on Twitter.
