Brabant killers

During the '80s of the 20th century there were a disturbing series of terror in Belgium. The criminals responsible for this were called (according where you live) "Les Tueurs fous du Brabant" (the mad killers of Brabant) or "Bende van Nijvel" (the gang of Nivelles.)

image courtesy Humo

The first incident that can be traced to them was a theft in a gun and armor shop in 1982, but gradually the events became more violent, cumulating in brutal armed robberies of supermarkets. In all, 28 people were killed and 40 more injured. The events stopped as abruptly as they commenced and to this day there is no hint of the agressors or their motives.

The most common point of view is that it was a traditional gang out for money and kicks, but an interesting theory points to the gang as being extreme right terrorist militia which tried to destabilize society. Defenders of the theory often defend it by saying that the incidents showed military precision, the bandits used extreme, unnecessary violence (with people, including children, being shot as close as a foot away while cowering on the floor) and robbery proceeds were modest relative to the extreme risks (in total the loot accounts for between € 150k and € 200k.)

image courtesy Het Laatste Nieuws

Be it as it may, the gang was never brought to justice and it is unclear if they ever will. However, there was a minor breakthrough recently when the possible identity of the leader of the gang (nicknamed 'the giant') was exposed. A man known as Christiaan B. reportedly confessedto his brother on his death-bed in 2015 that he was 'the giant'. He was an officer of the national police (Rijkswacht or Gendarmerie) a special police force that then resorted under the ministry of defense. Not only that, the man was also a member of a special anti-terrorist force (now, how cynic is that?) called Brigade Diane.

I was a teenager when all this happened, so I don't recall very much of the happenings, however I do recall that there were a lot of conspiracy theories (one of them being the CIA involved! - you can't invent that) of which all but 2 have been more or less disproved (hey, after all this remains Belgium.)

One thing that puzzles me though is the following:
-either they were a group of traditional bandits and our justice and police forces were incapable of finding them
-or else they were a terrorist group and had connections with high ranking people in both the political world and the military.
I am not sure which of the two I find more repulsive...