Breda murder victim linked to robbery committed on tips from Rabobank employees

A 25-year-old man found dead in a Breda flat earlier this month is very likely one of two perpetrators of a violent robbery in Bladel last year, according to the police. That robbery forms part of an investigation into Rabobank employees tipping criminals off about people withdrawing large sums of money at the bank.

The police found trace evidence in the Bladel victim's home that investigators linked to the man murdered in the Breda flat, the police said in a statement on Wednesday.

Two men robbed a 78-year-old woman in her Bladel home in September last year. They assaulted the elderly woman, leaving her seriously injured. The second suspect is still at large. The police are now looking for him in Breda.

Last week the police already announced that the two robbers were part of the same group that also committed robberies in Venlo and Roosendaal last year. Two Rabobank employees are suspected of tipping this group about people who withdrew large amounts of money at the bank. The victims were found by searching internal bank systems.

On July 7th last year a couple from Roosendaal was robbed of 20 thousand euros by three men after returning home from the bank. On July 19th, a German man was robbed of 100 thousand euros in Venlo, also after withdrawing the money from a Rabobank branch. On July 28th the police managed to prevent a robbery in Zundert and arrested five robbers. A 25-year-old Rabobank employee, Lorenzo J., was also arrested. The second bank employee was arrested in September.

The 25-year-old man was found dead in a flat on Roeselarestraat in Breda on January 9th. Two men were arrested on suspicion of murder or manslaughter. This happened after they apparently leaped from the balcony of the third floor apartment in an effort to evade the police, seriously injuring themselves.

The police chased the two suspects into the flat after they fled during a routine traffic check and found the body.

A few days before the man was found dead, shots were fired at two Breda homes, on Ahornstraat and Hagehof. One home belongs to a family member of the deceased man, according to NU.nl. The second home belongs to a family member of one of the two men suspected of killing the 25-year-old man.