In the hunt for the people who robbed the Maastricht jeweler Burger in December 2018, prosecutors have targeted four Serbs and a Bosnian. They allegedly stole watches worth 1.3 million euros.

This is according to information in the hands of L1. Of the Serbian quartet, only Lazar J. (52) is in custody.

Du Pont

Lazar was part of a criminal gang from the former Yugoslavia, an informant told police a day after the robbery. That same informant led agents to the Hotel Du Pont in Maasmechelen. There, about thirty kilometers from the jeweler in Platielstraat, the suspects around the million-dollar robbery were staying.

Darko the Thinker

That robbery on Christmas Eve 2018 was supposedly masterminded by Darko D., one of the Serbs. He was in telephone contact with all those involved in the case and paid the entire hotel bill. By doing so, according to the prosecution, he thus also paid for the stay of compatriots Lazar, Denis M. and Slavisa N and the Bosnian suspect Nasuf R.

Watches in extractor hood

Nasuf had been detained for some time. He and his wife were arrested in October in a house in the Asterstraat in Geleen. Money, watches, traces of a hemp plantation and a firearm were found there. The watches turned out not to be stolen, even though they were hidden in the hood. Nasuf, however, was convicted of the other cases. He received five months in prison, has since been released and must now wait and see what justice has in store for him in the watch theft case.

Super thin evidence

That he is still a suspect at all surprises attorney Peer Szymkowiak. "The evidence is super thin. Two anonymous witnesses who say he had contact with that group and that he was involved. Nothing more." Szymkowiak has petitioned the judge to end his client's case. "He is very troubled that he is being falsely accused," he said.

Serbia sputters against

The same goes for Lazar, alias Willy, who was arrested in mid-December during a border check in Hungary. Like the other Serbs, he was internationally flagged, but Serbia does not usually extradite its own citizens to other countries. Lazar, however, was unlucky enough to be caught on the Hungarian border. Ten days later he was in a Dutch cell.

'Willy must go free'

So while the justice system is waiting for an opportunity to arrest Darko, Denis and Slavisa, Lazar will appear in court for the first time on April 8. His lawyer Justin Luiten will then ask that "Willy" be released. "I think his alleged role is too little explained. And based on this file, especially after a year and a half of investigation, I don't see crazy much evidence."

The Justice Department has been asked to comment on this story, but through a spokesperson announced that it would not do so in the interest of the investigation.