Young migrant stoles expensive watch in front of police

A 24 – year-old man was arrested last Tuesday after robbing a watch worth 150,000 euros in front of a patrol of the Brussels police. The officers saw the victim getting into a taxi in the Zuidstraat, when a man suddenly showed up ripping his watch off his wrist and then fled towards Stoofstraat. Chased by the police, he was arrested a few blocks away, still holding the watch. This is reported by the Brussels public prosecutor’s office.

The victim had also pursued the suspect and could immediately confirm that the man arrested was indeed his assailant. During his interrogation at the Commissariat at the coal market, the victim told the investigators that he had bought the watch for 150,000 euros. The man had a wound to his wrist as a result of the incident, but did not request medical attention.

The arrested suspect turned out to be a 24-year-old man who was illegally staying in Belgium and was already known for similar attecks. In June 2020, he was sentenced by the Brussels criminal court to 21 months in prison for theft by force and illegal residence. The man was made available to the public prosecutor’s office.