# Man, 52, from Noordwijk sentenced for DIY store thefts that police watched

> A police court in Assen has sentenced the second of two men who stole €1,800 of goods from DIY stores in Beilen and Hoogezand while officers followed them and watched live on security cameras.

Society · published 2026-10-22 18:28 · https://nlnow.nl/a/two-noordwijk-men-steal-from-diy-stores-as-police-watch/

Two men from Noordwijk, aged 52 and 39, targeted DIY stores in Beilen and Hoogezand on 15 April. They filled their coats with tools, cleaning products and paint. Police had followed them from Nunspeet and watched the thefts live on the stores' security cameras. The police court in Assen has now sentenced the older man.

One car of the pair was registered with police. Officers followed the cars from Nunspeet in a "dynamic check" (dynamische controle). The drive ended in the car park of a DIY store in Beilen. The men went inside in long coats. Prepared inner pockets kept the detection gates silent.

They carried the loot to their cars and drove on to Hoogezand for the same trick. In all, they stole goods worth €1,800. Police arrested them in the car park in Hoogezand.

The two suspects mostly stayed silent with police. On the 39-year-old's phone, detectives found WhatsApp messages with the preparations. He also carried a magnet to defeat alarm tags.

The 52-year-old did not appear before the police court on Thursday morning. His lawyer did. The lawyer said: "My client has just started a new job. He offers a thousand apologies." He also said the man had been set up and only needed paint for his girlfriend. According to the lawyer, the rest of the loot was for the younger man. The judge answered: "A lot of good that does us."

The prosecutor did not believe the lawyer's account. She called the action an organised raid (strooptocht). She demanded 160 hours of community service and a one-month suspended prison sentence.

The judge was milder. He gave the 52-year-old the same sentence as the younger man, who had already received 80 hours of community service. Because of the older man's criminal record, the judge added a one-month suspended prison sentence. The 52-year-old must also still carry out an earlier suspended community service order of 30 hours.

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