DJ Robert de Haas of Skyfly lost his equipment in April, when it was stolen from his van. Last Sunday, his equipment re-emerged on Marktplaats.nl. Aided by the police, he took action to get it back.
In early April, a colleague of rental company and DJ-outsourcing agency Skyfly called Robert de Haas, in the morning after a show. His equipment had been stolen from his van. "While I had properly locked my van", says the DJ himself. A man walking his dog nearby found a couple of lamps on the street, but the rest of the equipment was gone.
Social media
De Haas reported the incident to the police and used social media to try and get his things back. Eventually, he received a tip from another DJ-company, who claimed that they had seen the stolen speakers and smoke machine on the Dutch auction website Marktplaats.nl. "The pictures clearly showed the company logo, which was obviously not so clever", says De Haas.
Meeting with the culprit
When De Haas again contacted the police, they advised him to approach the thief himself. And so, he made an appointment last Tuesday after he had made a bid of 850 euros on his own equipment. He went inside while police officers waited outside in cover, listening to the conversation going on inside through the DJs phone.
Excuse
The DJ immediately recognized his own equipment: "I asked the guy what the name Skyfly meant, who replied that Skyfly was the brand of the speakers". The DJ then asked the thief whether he wanted to help him carry the equipment outside. As soon as they came out, the police took the man into custody. De Haas has installed extra alarm systems in his van and has attached an extra metal bar to the tow bar to prevent any further theft.
