A jewellery shop in Ghent was burgled with losses potentially reaching €1 million in the early hours of Thursday, when suspects escaped despite being confronted by police.
The break-in took place at about 3:30 at Cagla Gold in Sleepstraat, according to Belgian media and the East Flanders public prosecutor’s office, which confirmed the burglary.
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CCTV footage shows the suspects forcing open the display shutter and smashing the front door. Two men then emptied the shop while a third stood watch outside.
Police arrived just as the last suspect left the premises and headed for the getaway car. Footage shows two officers holding the vehicle at gunpoint, but the suspects still managed to drive away.
As the car sped off, a large white bag fell from the vehicle. It is believed to have contained part of the stolen jewellery, and was later examined for forensic evidence.
The full value of the stolen goods remains unclear. However, the manager’s wife told Het Nieuwsblad that the display cases and shop contained highly valuable items and that the total could amount to €1 million.
The prosecutor’s office said four suspects were involved, as investigators believe a fourth man remained in the car during the burglary, while two accomplices entered the shop and another stayed outside. A passer-by spotted the break-in and alerted police, prosecutor’s office spokeswoman Lisa De Wilde said.
“A bag containing jewellery fell from the car. The forensic team attended the scene for further investigation. The suspects are being traced, but no arrests have yet been made,” De Wilde said.
The local police have not commented on the investigation itself, but Ghent police chief Filip Rasschaert responded to criticism on social media over the officers’ handling of the incident.
He said the officers had acted “particularly professionally, calmly and correctly” and stressed that the law does not allow police to open fire on fleeing suspects simply to arrest them.
“The use of firearms is permitted only in strictly defined situations, for example when there is a serious and immediate threat to human life. That was not the case here,” Rasschaert said.
He added that by not firing at the suspects, officers had avoided unnecessary risks to themselves, the suspects, and local residents, while their rapid response had helped recover part of the stolen goods.
“The police did not simply let the perpetrators escape,” he said. “Good policing does not mean intervening at any cost, but making the right decision at the right moment. That is what these officers did.”
