Three Arrested Over the Theft of a €5 Million Smartphone Shipment Near Schiphol
The Royal Netherlands Marechaussee has arrested three men over the theft of a smartphone shipment worth around 5 million euros in the Schiphol region. The suspects are from Amsterdam and Zoetermeer.
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Three men have been arrested over the theft of a shipment of smartphones worth around 5 million euros near Amsterdam’s Schiphol Airport, the Dutch military police have said.
What is known
The arrests were made by the Koninklijke Marechaussee (the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee), the branch of the armed forces responsible for security at Schiphol and at the country’s borders. According to the Marechaussee, the three suspects were detained over the past few weeks in connection with the theft of the smartphones, which took place in the Schiphol area and involved goods valued at roughly 5 million euros.
The three are two 24-year-old men from Amsterdam and a 39-year-old man from Zoetermeer. As is the case with any suspect, they have not been convicted, and it will be up to the investigation and, if it comes to that, the courts to establish what role, if any, each of them played.
So far, relatively little has been made public about how the theft was carried out or exactly when it happened, and it is not clear whether the stolen phones have been recovered. The investigation appears to be continuing.
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A recurring target
Although the details of this case are limited, thefts of this kind are not unusual at Schiphol. The airport is one of the largest air cargo hubs in Europe, handling large volumes of valuable freight, and shipments of high-value electronics such as smartphones and tablets have been targeted there before. Because such goods are compact, expensive and easy to resell, they are attractive to organised criminal groups, and cargo theft is treated by the authorities as a serious form of organised crime.
Industry groups and police have warned in recent years about a rise in cargo theft from lorries and logistics sites across the Netherlands and Europe, ranging from opportunistic break-ins to carefully planned operations.
For now, the Marechaussee has said only that three people are in custody in connection with the case. Any further details, including the circumstances of the theft and what happens to the suspects, are likely to emerge as the investigation progresses.