Thieves return (some) stolen cash to carnival group they robbed

Thieves return (some) stolen cash to carnival group they robbed
© De Gatspoëters

Thieves who stole an envelope containing €2,000 from a carnival group in Opwijk in Flemish Brabant have returned some of the cash with an apology.

“We shouldn’t have done it. Sorry,” reads the note typed on an envelope sent to the group De Gatspoëters. But the envelope contained only €840, and notes “It wasn’t 2000 euros like it said in the paper”.

The theft from the register behind the bar took place while the carnival group, which organises the annual parade in the town, was celebrating the election of this year’s carnival prince. The cash was intended for provisions for the celebration.

Immediately after the theft was discovered, the group issued an appeal for the thief to return the money anonymously, which bore fruit on Wednesday.

I recognised the envelope right away,” said group president Kurt Spruyt. “There was no doubt, that envelope was stolen on Saturday evening from our cash register.” And he repeated the group’s insistence that the thieves had got away with €2,000.

We have a foolproof system that lets us be sure how much money there was in the envelope.”

Despite the apology, the group now intends to file a police complaint.

We want to know who did this,” Spruyt said. “Clearly its someone who knows the carnival world and knows what goes on behind the scenes. We hope the police can find them so that they can’t steal from other groups.”

The group said it has video of the event which might give some clue as to the identity of the thief or thieves, although the camera was mainly pointed towards the people celebrating in the hall.

Alan Hope

The Brussels Times


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