Around ten bicycles were stolen by several individuals during the night between Sunday and Monday from a store in Spy, in the municipality of Jemeppe-sur-Sambre (Namur province), according to management.
The haul is worth more than €60,000, the company said. The Public Prosecutor's Office has opened an investigation.
The theft took place at around 02:00 at the store on Route de Saussin. A van coming from the nearby E42 motorway parked in front of the store. Three of the four people inside got out and used sledgehammers to break the store's window and shutters.
The criminals then stole around ten bicycles. They were clearly familiar with the premises, as they had a battery-powered angle grinder with them to cut the metal ties securing the bicycles to their stands, said the chain store manager, Sébastien Bertrand.
The burglary lasted only a few minutes. The thieves had already left by the time the police arrived. They headed back toward the E42 highway.
The Public Prosecutor's Office sent a forensic team to the scene.
