Judges in Amsterdam have sentenced a French national to 11 years in jail for his role in a violent armed robbery on a security van in 2021, but found a Belgian man not guilty, citing a lack of evidence.

The public prosecution department had called for 18-year jail terms for both men.
The Belgian is currently serving a 16-year jail term in Belgium for another crime.

The public prosecution department says the two, who have both denied any involvement in the crime, were able to escape after the robbery and holed up for a time in Rotterdam. The Frenchman was later arrested in Paris and the Belgian in Kosovo.

Last April, eight other men who were involved in the robbery were given jail sentences of up to 15 years.

The gang from Belgium, France and Morocco targeted a Brinks lorry that was collecting gold, platinum and other precious metals at a depot in Amsterdam-Noord in May 2021.

They threatened staff with guns and bound them with tie wraps before making off with €14.5 million worth of metal, more than €4 million of which is still missing.

One man fired shots into the air to keep passers-by at bay before the gang fled along provincial roads towards Broek in Waterland, pursued by police. There they abandoned the vehicles, setting two of them on fire, and set off across the fields.

One of the robbers was shot dead as police gave chase on foot, supported by armed units and a helicopter.