Brabant Killers

The Brabant killers, also named the Nijvel Gang in Dutch-speaking media (Dutch: De Bende van Nijvel), and the mad killers of Brabant in French-speaking media (French: Les Tueurs fous du Brabant), are believed to be responsible for a series of violent attacks that mainly occurred in the Belgian province of Brabant between 1982 and 1985.

Brief Case History
A total of 28 people died and 22 were injured. The actions of the gang, believed to consist of several people who assisted a core of three men, made it Belgium's most notorious crime spree. The active participants were known as: The Giant (a tall man who may have been the leader); the Killer (the main shooter) and the Old Man (a middle aged man who drove). The identities and whereabouts of the "Brabant killers" are unknown although one may have been killed after the last known robbery. Failure to catch the gang was a major impetus behind the reform of the Belgian police. There have been many theories of ulterior motives behind the crimes. After the last robbery patrol vehicles from Belgium's then two police forces arrived before the gang left the Parklaan Delhaize. Most vehicles went to a secondary exit of the parking lot about 100 yards away. The getaway began with the "Giant" walking alongside the getaway car, exchanging shots with a policeman. Police fired more shots as the getaway car sped away shooting back. A police van pursued the gang for a few kilometers before stopping the pursuit.

In 1983, on the basis of a forensic examination of a weapon, and a witness who said he had seen one of the stolen cars hidden in a garage, authorities charged the gun owner (a former municipal policeman) and several other men ("Borains") with the Brabant killings. Police said they obtained incriminating statements from the men under interrogation. The Brabant killers' jewelry shop raid was established by ballistics of the double murder to be by the same weapons of previous crimes (Oct. 2nd, 1983), but that it had occurred while the accused were in detention was deemed by the investigating magistrate to an attempt to provide them with an alibi by fellow gang members still at large. Prosecution of the "Borains" was abandoned along with the line of enquiry, having sidetracked much of the investigative resources available during a crucial period. The law enforcement agencies hunting the killers made many mistakes during the early years of the investigation, often as a result of distrust of what were seen as rivals among the various authorities. Among them the worst oversights were the destruction of a car chassis the gang dumped, and loss of bags with fingerprints believed to have belonged to one of the killer simply lost. The investigating magistrate was criticised for lack of professionalism by mishandling evidence and not considering alternatives to his theories about the case. He was later replaced.

In November 1986 the discovery in a canal of various items; weapons taken or used in the gangs' crimes and apparently dumped provided important evidence. A long running dispute erupted over the find, amid assertions that the location had nothing in it in 1985, therefor the weapons could not have been there from that time and a second search must have been done with guilty knowledge. In 2019, the now-retired officers responsible for ordering the 1986 search were officially questioned on suspicion of manipulating the investigation, but they protested that original search of the canal was from the surface, and so it had never been subjected to an underwater inspection by frogmen before they ordered one in 1986. A Volkswagen Golf car — similar to that used in the getaway — had been found burned out in 1985 in woods relatively close by to the canal, however it was said the weapons could not have been there from that time.

Modus Operandi
Some of the evidence that police found indicated that the gang were professional criminals involved in drugs and burglaries. On the other hand, odd elements were also evident: The gang is believed to have had at least one outside helper on its last raid. The weapons that the gang used were found in 1986 in a channel about 30 km outside Brussels.
 * Robbery proceeds were modest relative to the extreme risks;
 * The killings escalated dramatically in 1985. Bystanders were shot dead in the parking lot before the gang entered the supermarkets; other victims, including children, were shot from as close as a foot away while cowering on floors;
 * Firearms were a particular interest; the 12-gauge pump shotguns used were loaded with a rare, heavy buckshot; hand-loading and shooting magazine indicated that they may have been in a rifle club.
 * Cars used, often Volkswagens, were stripped of distinctive trim; vehicle modifications including repainting, and indicated a mechanic's expertise; one minor member of the gang is believed to have been working as a motor trader. One of the VW used had been disassembled down to the chassis before being dumped.
 * The getaway driver was highly skilled; escape routes were fast and non-obvious, often to forested areas where the cars were burnt out.

Official complicity
The last gang robbery (despite patrols checking the supermarket every twenty minutes) led to rumours of them having some kind of inside knowledge and possibly being assisted by individual gendarmes in the attacks. Nearby Gendarmerie vehicles (which had an semiautomatic FN Uzi in a compartment) did not engage or pursue the gang.

The Belgian "stay-behind" network SDRA8 (Gladio) — operating as a secret branch of the Belgian military service — was suggested by some to have links to the gang. Some units of the stay-behind network were made up of members of the Belgian Gendarmerie. One theory was that the communist threat in Western Europe was taken as justifying Operation Gladio being activated. However, the Belgian parliamentary inquiry into Gladio found no substantive evidence that Gladio was involved in any terrorist acts or that criminal groups had infiltrated the stay-behind network as a part of Group Diane.

Westland New Post
The NATO 'Stay Behind' explanation for the Brabant incidents was explored in a 1992 BBC Timewatch series named 'Operation Gladio', directed by Allan Francovich. The program centered on a by-then defunct private Belgian far right anti-communist organization named Westland New Post. The leader, Paul Latinus, said he was working with government agencies along the same lines as Gladio.

The main WNP connection to the Brabant killers was that members — including some Gendarmerie — recalled being ordered in the early eighties to covertly surveil and compile a report on security arrangements at various Belgian supermarkets. Some of the markets were in a large chain that was the main target of the later killings. WNP had a genuine intelligence operative advising on covert techniques; NATO behind-the-lines units are known to have used the planning of robberies as a training exercise.

Michel Libert, the former second-in-command of Westland New Post, has never denied passing on the orders to gather detailed information on supermarkets with a view to robberies. He has denied being told by Latinus if there was any purpose of the assignments beyond an exercise to develop clandestine skills.

In 1983 Libert had been staying with Marcel Barbier, a WNP member, when the latter was arrested for using a weapon in a street fight and became a suspect in a double murder at a synagogue a year earlier. When police then began investigating WNP, Latinus told them that Barbier and another WNP member were behind the synagogue murders, and that Latinus had helped Barbier get rid of the murder weapon as well as other pieces of evidence. Barbier was the only person convicted for these murders; his co-accused, who was acquitted but later convicted of a similar double murder of diamond merchants, appeared in a Belgian TV program in 2014, where he alleged WNP was behind the Brabant killings. This claim was based on WNP apparently having compiled information on the premises raided. Libert was arrested as a suspect soon after the program was broadcast, but released without charge after 48 hours. In 2018 a former subordinate of Libert publicly accused him of being the 'Giant', although without any official reaction. Libert went on television to deny the allegation, he claimed the accuser had mental health difficulties.

1982

 * March 13: Theft of a 10-gauge fowling shotgun at a store in Dinant, Belgium. Two men were seen running away.
 * May 10: Armed robbery of an Austin Allegro; theft of a Volkswagen Santana from a car showroom
 * August 14: Armed robbery of a grocery store in Maubeuge, France. Food and wine were stolen; while the goods were being loaded into a vehicle, two French police officers came on the scene. Both were shot and seriously wounded.
 * September 30: Armed robbery of a weapons dealer in Wavre, Belgium. Fifteen firearms were stolen, including sub-machine guns. A policeman was killed at the scene; two others were shot and seriously wounded later.
 * December 23: Armed robbery of a restaurant in Beersel, Belgium. Coffee and wine were stolen. The caretaker was tortured and killed.

1983

 * January 9: The theft of a Peugeot at gunpoint.
 * January 28: Cab robbery and murder in Brussels; the car was found in Mons, Belgium. The taxi driver was killed.
 * February 11: Armed robbery of a supermarket in Rixensart, Belgium. Less than $18,000 was stolen. Several people were wounded; no one was killed.
 * February 22. An Audi 100 with bullet holes from the February 11th incident was stolen from a commercial garage where it was being repaired, but quickly abandoned.
 * February 25: Armed robbery of a supermarket in Uccle, Belgium. Less than $16,000 was stolen. No one was killed.
 * March 3: Armed robbery and murder at a supermarket in Halle, Belgium. Less than $18,000 was stolen. One supermarket-staff member was killed.
 * May 7: Armed robbery of a supermarket in Houdeng-Gougnies, Belgium. Less than $22,000 was stolen. No one was killed.
 * September 10: Armed robbery and murder at a textile factory in Temse, Belgium. Seven bullet-proof jackets were stolen. A worker was killed and his wife severely wounded. The firm had recently began been manufacturing the jackets (for the police) which was not widely known.
 * September 17: A couple were murdered in the early hours after stopping their Mercedes at a 24-hour self-service gas station beside a store that the gang was burgling. Despite the alarm going off, the gang took the time to load twenty kilos of tea and coffee and 10 liters of cooking oil. Two gendarmes responding to the alarm were shot as they arrived on the scene; one was killed, the other seriously wounded. The gang escaped in the Saab turbo stolen on February 22 and the murdered couple's Mercedes. After shooting up a police car that began following them, the gang used a little-known minor road to get away in the Saab, after unsuccessful attempts to destroy the car by shooting the petrol tank, they left it near to the garage from which the Audi had been stolen (also linked to the VW hijacked in 1982, and close to the Delhaize supermarket that would be attacked on September 27, 1985. Investigators believe that the repeated propinquity may indicate that some members lived in the area. Potentially crucial evidence collected from the Saab 'disappeared'.
 * October 2: Armed robbery of a restaurant in Ohain, Belgium. Nothing was stolen. The owner was killed.
 * October 7: Armed robbery of a supermarket in Beersel, Belgium. Less than $35,000 was stolen. One customer was killed
 * December 1: Armed robbery of a shop in Anderlues and murder of the couple who owned it. About 3000 Euros of jewelry was stolen. The owner's wife was instantly killed without warning as the gang entered, her husband attempted to defend himself with a pistol, but was shot dead. The gang destroyed a surveillance camera recording before leaving. The stolen VW used had fake license plates copied from a legitimately owned VW of the same model that was linked to the garage where the Audi was taken, and where the new VW stolen taken at gunpoint in 1982 was bought.

1985
As a result of these robberies, security was increased at many stores in the region — including armed guards.
 * September 27: Armed robbery at the Delhaize supermarket on rue de la Graignette in Braine-l'Alleud. Less than $6,000 was stolen. Three people were killed and two wounded. Between 15 and 25 minutes later, there was an armed robbery of the Delhaize supermarket on Brusselsesteenweg in Overijse. Less than $25,000 was stolen. Five people were killed and one wounded.
 * November 9, around 7:30 p.m.: Armed robbery at the Delhaize supermarket on the Parklaan in Aalst. This market was outside the area the gang usually operated in. Their arrival was almost simultaneous with the departure of an armed patrol that checked the supermarket every three times an hour. A family of four encountered the perpetrators in the parking lot before they entered the shop and the mother, father, and daughter were killed apparently motivelessly, the surviving boy from the family ran back into the shop where he was singled out and shot at point blank range, he was very badly wounded in the hip. Less than $25,000 was taken; eight people were killed and several seriously injured. Gang members (wearing bizarre face paint and disguises) roared at and taunted customers. They also were reportedly laughing and smiling during the gratuitous shootings, which were done by the "Killer". The robbers did not leave the scene right away after returning to their parked getaway vehicle.

Suspects
Notorious professional criminals, including Patrick Haemers and Madani Bouhouche (both deceased) have been indicated as likely suspects. Haemers's height made him an apparent fit for the Brabant gang's 'Giant'. On the other hand, his known crimes lacked the gratuitous violence and small-time takings that were the Brabant killers' hallmark. Bouhouche was an ex-policeman convicted of two murders and linked to several notorious crimes of the era. Most suspects date back to the beginning of the investigation, and have been repeatedly questioned over the years. New persons of interest in the case have been arrested on the basis of nothing more than drunken ravings and a resemblance to one of the over twenty artists impressions of the perpetrators. The latest was Christiaan Bonkoffsky, ex-Gendarmerie unit Group Diane, who before his alcohol related 2015 death made a confession to being the so called Giant. A riot gun and ammunition basket labelled "Gendarmerie-Politie", were apparently dumped by the Brabant killers (possibly after having been stolen by them). Bonkofsky had already been scrutinised as a potential suspect in 2000, investigators utilising forensic DNA and fingerprints have definitely ruled him out as the Giant.

On Criminal Minds
The Brabant Killers have yet to be mentioned on Criminal Minds but may have inspired the Face Cards bank robber gang.