On a corporate parking lot in Menin, Western Flanders, the whole incident unfolded in under a minute. A thief emptied a handyman’s van parked near Tyber Park in broad daylight. He left with several thousand euros worth of tools. His accomplice waited in a gray Mercedes, a baby on her lap. In about thirty seconds, drills, grinding discs, a job-site radio, and refrigeration equipment vanished. This van theft in Menin demonstrates how easily a utility vehicle can become a target. And it was all captured on video.
That Thursday afternoon, an independent contractor was working at the Koeltechniek Hemeryck site. The company sits behind the Jumbo supermarket near Tyber Park. His van supports his side business and was parked on his employer’s lot. When he returned to his vehicle, something felt off. “When I got back, the rear door was open,” he says. “I knew immediately there had been a break-in, because my van is always locked.” The man behind it all is Mac Pauwels. Facing the damage, he sums up the shock in a single line: “I lost about €3,000 in 30 seconds,” Pauwels told HLN, cited by 7sur7.
A lightning robbery in a handyman’s van captured on cameras
On the ground, the security cameras didn’t miss a beat. It was watching the footage that Mac Pauwels really understood how his van had been targeted. “Around 3:25 p.m., a gray Mercedes registered in France pulled up. While a woman with a baby on her lap remained in the car, a man went to work. He steps out, then forces the latch on the side door with a screwdriver. And then everything disappears in under a minute.” In a matter of seconds, the van is emptied, and the Mercedes drives off.
The haul consisted exclusively of professional gear. “A job-site radio, drills, grinding discs, a vacuum cleaner… Everything you’d expect. All my DeWalt tools and equipment were taken in 30 seconds.” A case containing refrigeration equipment also disappeared, including a pressure gauge valued at about €1,000. “That hurts, of course. In total, I lost around €3,000 in 30 seconds.” Faced with the footage, Pauwels highlights the thief’s skill: “It’s almost impressive to see how quickly he forced the lock and stripped everything. This can’t be his first break-in. It was probably a targeted theft, because there’s no sign on my van yet he clearly knew it housed work gear. It wasn’t a random strike.” All of this happened on a site equipped with multiple cameras, and the parking lot sees constant deliveries from several neighboring stores.
Handyman van, investigation and insurance: heavy losses to bear
The police arrived quickly on the scene and opened an inquiry. “They’ll come today to perform forensics on my van,” explains Mac Pauwels. The suspected vehicle, a gray Mercedes registered in France, was reported on the other side of the border and is also listed in Belgian files. “I was told that the car, with a French plate, would be flagged in France for seizure. Here in Belgium it’s now in the ANPR system (Automatic Number Plate Recognition). That way, if it tries to cross the border, it can be intercepted.” This system alerts patrols the moment a marked vehicle is spotted by an ANPR camera.
Beyond the shock, the financial consequences are what weigh most on the independent worker. “Unfortunately, my insurance doesn’t cover my equipment. I have coverage for the van, but for gear that isn’t fixed in place, you need a separate policy,” he explains. Like many professionals, Mac Pauwels discovers that his rolling workshop isn’t as protected as he believed. Data from a Belgian insurer show a sizable share of business theft targets the contents of work vehicles, and those contents are too often underinsured. To limit risk, a few practical steps remain essential: choose well-lit, visible parking spots and always lock the doors. It’s also wise not to leave the priciest gear in the vehicle. “We’ve reached a point where, as independents, we must insure every tool separately. What will be next? Installing an AirTag on every machine?”
