Two Arrested After Brutal Jewelry Store Robbery in Menen

A violent armed robbery at a jewelry store in Lauwe, near Menen in West Flanders, has left the 62-year-old shop owner injured and three suspects on the run — two of whom were arrested within hours by French police across the border. The brazen daytime heist, which unfolded around 17:45 on Tuesday, July 14, saw masked assailants assault the owner, Ria Merlier, before making off with a large quantity of jewelry and watches, according to VRT NWS.

The Robbery

Three masked men entered Juwelier Ferri Merlier on the Lauwbergstraat in Lauwe, a sub-municipality of Menen located just kilometers from the French border. The attackers immediately confronted the shop owner, physically assaulting her and causing injuries that required hospital treatment. They then ransacked the display cases, grabbing dozens of jewelry items and watches before fleeing the scene in a gray Volkswagen Touran with French license plates.

Witnesses initially reported four perpetrators, but the Public Prosecutor’s Office of West Flanders (Parket West-Vlaanderen) later confirmed on July 15 that there were exactly three assailants.

The Getaway

The robbers’ escape plan involved a vehicle switch designed to evade detection. Shortly after the robbery, the gray Volkswagen Touran was found burning on an elevated industrial site at the Oude Aalbeeksestraat in the Rollegem area, near Kortrijk. The vehicle had been deliberately set alight with accelerants to destroy forensic evidence, the prosecutor’s office confirmed. It was found with a heavily damaged front end, pushed against a bulldozer out of sight from the road.

A witness at the scene spotted a second vehicle — a blue Citroën C1, also with French plates — which the robbers used to continue their escape into France. As HLN reported, a truck driver who encountered the suspects in the tiny Citroën described how they agitated him while he was maneuvering his vehicle. “It was strange, four men in such a tiny car,” he said. “They made dismissive gestures. ‘They’re in a real hurry,’ I thought to myself.”

Earlier, an employee of the Lavaert Group had confronted the driver of the blue Citroën C1, who was parked suspiciously on private construction land claiming to be “resting” in the burning sun. She told him to leave, and he reluctantly drove off — only to return minutes later to pick up the fleeing robbers.

Swift Cross-Border Arrests

Belgian police from zone Grensleie alerted French authorities through the CCPD (Centre for Police and Customs Cooperation) in Tournai. The rapid information-sharing paid off. By Wednesday morning, French police in Tourcoing had arrested two suspects — both French nationals aged 31 and 32 — and recovered at least part of the stolen goods from the Citroën C1, as VRT NWS reported.

“Two suspects aged 31 and 32 with French nationality could ultimately be arrested by the police of Tourcoing,” the prosecutor’s office stated. “It also appears that the stolen goods were found in the vehicle.”

A third suspect remains at large, and a European arrest warrant has been issued. The Public Prosecutor’s Office of West Flanders has requested the extradition of the two arrested individuals to Belgium, where an investigating judge has been appointed to continue the judicial investigation.

Cross-Border Crime in Focus

The incident highlights the ongoing challenge of cross-border crime in the Belgium-France border region. Lauwe sits just 10 kilometers from Tourcoing, part of the Lille metropolitan area, making the border permeable for criminal gangs. The use of French-plated vehicles, the escape route into France, and the French nationality of the arrested suspects all underscore the cross-border nature of such organized crime.

Local residents have expressed frustration, with comments on news articles calling for enhanced border security measures. The swift cooperation between Belgian and French police in this case, however, demonstrates the effectiveness of existing cross-border mechanisms like the CCPD.

What’s Next

The two arrested suspects face extradition proceedings to Belgium, where they will be tried for armed robbery and assault. The search continues for the third suspect, whose identity remains unknown. Meanwhile, the full extent of the stolen goods and the condition of the injured shop owner, Ria Merlier, have not yet been publicly detailed. The judicial investigation remains ongoing as authorities work to determine whether the suspects were part of a larger organized crime network.