Four suspects still at large after Amsterdam armored truck robbery

The police are still looking for four suspects involved in a violent robbery on a valuables transport in Amsterdam in May last year. Over 4 million euros worth of precious metals are still missing, the police said on Opsporing Verzocht on Tuesday evening.

The police identified one of the suspects as a 26-year-old Belgian-Moroccan man named Ibrahim Akhlal. Investigators believe the other three men come from Belgium or France.

The armed robbery at the Schöne Edelmetaal building on Meeuwenlaan in Amsterdam-Noord happened on 19 May 2021, at around 2:15 p.m. Multiple suspects fired automatic firearms at the armored truck, tied up the employees with cable ties, stole a large number of precious metals, and fled in three cars. The police gave chase.

The fleeing vehicle split ways on the A10, with two driving towards the A10 Noord/Zaandam and the third towards Zeeburgertunnel. The police chase ended in Broek in Waterland, where the police found two burning cars and the suspects trying to escape in two other vehicles. Several suspects ran into a meadow on foot. The police arrested five suspects in Broek in Waterland. Two of them were injured. A sixth suspect died at the scene.

The other getaway car drove to Diemen, where the suspect transferred into a BMW with fake Belgian number plates. The BMW is still missing.

The Amsterdam police believe that the four suspects still at large come from abroad. A joint investigation with the police in Belgium and France showed that the suspects stayed in a safe house in Rotterdam after the robbery. They were seen on surveillance camera footage around the safehouse. As was the BMW from Diemen, now with a Dutch license plate.

The police are looking for witnesses who can provide information on Akhlal's whereabouts and can help identify and find the other three suspects.