A burglar who upon his arrest described Belgian detectives as the best he had encountered has been jailed for three years.
Bruges criminal court has sentenced 27-year-old Italian national Dilan H. to three years' imprisonment for two burglaries, two burglary attempts and two number plate thefts.
During a transfer for interrogation, the man started spontaneously boasting about his career in crime. Based on his experiences in several European countries, he said he had particular respect for the German and Belgian police.
"You cannot run away from the German police because they have the fastest cars. And the Belgian police have the best investigators. Their investigation is strong," he said. The defence asked for those statements not to be taken into account as the accused was not assisted by a lawyer at the time.
Stealing from the rich
The man stated that he deliberately only went to steal from rich people.
During a burglary in Knokke-Heist (one of Belgium's most expensive communes) on 8 April 2022, a wallet, a handbag, a travel bag and €250 in cash were stolen. The same day and four days earlier, two burglary attempts were also detected in the same neighbourhood.
Then, on 18 April 2022, a neighbour saw a safe and some expensive handbags thrown through the window of an Antwerp villa.
According to the prosecution, the acts were committed by an itinerant gang using rental cars. Following a burglary attempt in Leuven, Dilan H. was eventually arrested as a suspect. The accused was also linked to the theft of number plates in Ghent and Kaprijke.
In the same file, a 45-year-old Italian man from Liège was sentenced to 15 months' imprisonment. Alfonso C. rented cars on behalf of the gang.
