Rising Tide of Saddle Thefts: Investigations, Arrests, and Prevention Tips

2024-01-03 19:28:00

Several riding schools in the country have been faced with saddle thefts in recent months. The Federal Judicial Police (PJF) of West Flanders, where nine incidents were recorded, investigated for many months.

They steal valuable equestrian equipment from a stable in Fexhe-le-Haut-Clocher

Investigators thus discovered that the acts had been committed by Romanian nationals without a fixed address. The gang would scout ahead and then return at night. The loot was then transported almost immediately to an equestrian center in the province of Antwerp before in all likelihood being resold abroad.

On the night of Tuesday October 10 to Wednesday October 11, 2023, several suspects were caught in flagrante delicto by special units of the federal police. Two Romanian nationals aged 38 and 41 were arrested in Hainaut. The operation continued in Limburg in order to arrest the alleged receivers, a 33-year-old Lithuanian woman and her 56-year-old companion from Mol. Around 150 horse saddles and nearly 35,000 euros in cash were seized from their home and their equestrian center.

Theft and concealment of horse saddles: 4 suspects placed under arrest warrant

The four suspects were placed under arrest warrant after being heard by the Bruges investigating judge. The council chamber ordered the conditional release of the fifty-year-old on Tuesday morning and the prosecution did not appeal the decision. The other suspects had already been released.

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