Military employee arrested for stealing, selling €50,000 worth of gear

A civilian employed by the Dutch military was arrested on Monday over accusations that he stole clothing and equipment, then sold it on the classified advertisement website Marktplaats. The man works for the military in Assen and was arrested by the Marechaussee, a military branch that handles some policing and investigative services. He allegedly earned over 50,000 euros with the scheme.

Among the items he allegedly stole and sold were goods featuring the newest camouflage pattern. That pattern has only been in use in the Netherlands for the past two years, the Marechaussee said.

“The identity of the seller was found through information gathered during the investigation, including data from Marktplaats,” the military branch stated. His arrest was ordered by the Public Prosecution Service for the Northern Netherlands, which is overseeing the investigation.

In 2019, the Defense Ministry announced it had selected a new camouflage pattern after nearly a decade of research between the military and TNO. The research was meant to find variants of camouflage that work in a multitude of environments.

The military selected fractal patterns in the shades of green for the wooded and urban areas of Europe, tan for deserts and savanna regions, and blue for naval crews. A white pattern is also being developed for snowy areas.