Dutch OC in English, English articles

[GangstersInc]

For the convenience of our international readers I think it is a good idea to post all English articles covering Dutch OC here.

[Hollander]

Posted by Peter: Apr 21 2006, 01:58 PM

Shadow of a gunman

Updated 20 April 2006

The hit men of the Amsterdam underworld continue their work with wild abandon. The police seem powerless to stop them.

Three out of 29 is a fairly dismal record. This is the number of convictions secured by police after almost 15 years of underworld killings in Amsterdam. And there is no clear explanation for the spate of killings. One suggestion is that there is an ongoing feud between Yugoslavian and Dutch criminals. Another is that when friends fall out in the underworld, death is usually the result.

As the Dutch public calls for unity and rejects violence on the first anniversary of the murder of filmmaker Theo van Gogh, it is business as usual in the capital's underworld. And murder is a legitimate business practice for these people.

Here is a list of gangland killings in the last 15 years:

1991

June: Drugs baron Klaas Bruinsma is shot and killed outside the Hilton Hotel. He was seen as the first Dutch criminal kingpin of the modern age.

1992

A Yugoslav man dies in a café in the Jordaan area after being shot in the head. The killing is allegedly linked to Bruinsma's death.

1993

January: Former TV pirate station operator Pietje Hendriks is shot dead in a café on the Spaarndammerdijk. He was also linked to the ecstasy trade.

May: An unknown assailant shoots the 34-year-old Belgian doctor Danny Leclère dead in his car on the Amsterdam ring road. Leclère played a leading role in the first large ecstasy case in the Netherlands. He was sentenced to six years jail, but escaped during leave from prison. His killer has never been found.

1995

June: German drugs dealer G. Hoffman is killed at a petrol station in Amsterdam North.

1996

March: In a café on the Haarlemmerstraat, Belgian drug dealer and police informer Martin Swennen is killed in a volley of pistol bullets. The culprit is arrested.

1997

October: A shooting at Central Station kills one and severely injures another. Both victims were from Singapore and the car they were in at the time of the shooting is riddled with bullet holes.

1998

February: Two Turkish men are shot and killed in the Populierenstraat.

1999

January: Two men aged 23 and 28 are killed in a shooting on the C.P.M. Rommeplantsoen. A third man, aged 28, is severely wounded.

July: A 27-year-old woman of Osdorp is killed when her car explodes. The death is described as a gangland slaying, but the woman was not the intended victim. She was the partner of a known Yugoslavian criminal.

December: Former drug dealer Steve Brown is shot in front of his home, but survives. He had felt threatened for some time after giving testimony against Bruinsma's suspected killer in 1991.

2000

September: Top criminal Jan Femer, 56, is killed on the Haarlemmerdijk. The single shooter shot him at close range from a motorbike.

October: Top criminal Sam Klepper, 40, is killed in a public shooting among shoppers on the Gelderlandplein. Police draw a possible link between the murders of Klepper and Femer.

November: A man shoots three people dead in a Japanese restaurant. The victims are two Yugoslavians and a woman. The culprit stepped inside the restaurant, walked to the victims’ table and started shooting without speaking. Police assume it is a gangland liquidation.

2001

September: A 48-year-old Moroccan man is shot near the Holiday Inn hotel.

2002

March: Egyptian drug dealer Magdi Barsoum, 52, is gunned down on the Bloedstraat in Amsterdam's main Red Light District. The victim had worked with Klaas Bruinsma in the 1980s and had done business with Sam Klepper. Barsoum's brother, Mounir, is murdered in 2004.

December: Gijs van Dam Jr. is severely wounded in a shooting on the Willem van Weldammelaan in Amsterdam-Buitenveldert. Van Dam’s father is a renowned figure in the underworld. He is believed to have done business with Sam Klepper.

2003

January: An unknown culprit shoots and kills George Pflieger in his car near a railway crossing in Diemen. The victim allegedly played a minor role in the crime world. An 11-year-old student receives a minor injury from a stray bullet.

January: The kidnapper of Freddie Heineken, Cor van Hout, is shot and killed in the Dorpsstraat in Amstelveen. His companion, Robert ter Haak, later dies of his injuries.

May: A 57-year-old man from Serbia-Montenegro is liquidated in the PC Hooftstraat. The man was known to police.

August: Real estate owner Bertus Luske, 59, is shot and killed in front of his restaurant Frankendael on the Middenweg in Amsterdam. He is suspected of having criminal links.

October: The 39-year-old criminal, Jules Jie, and a 20-year-old Thai woman are shot and killed in their car on the Keizer Karelweg in Amstelveen.

December: The 33-year-old Bulgarian drugs criminal Konstantin Dimitrov is shot and killed on Dam Square. A 23-year-old Bulgarian woman is severely wounded in the shooting. A 37-year-old Dutchman is later arrested.

2004

March: Former detective Martin Hoogland — the man who killed Klaas Bruinsma and drugs dealer Anton Hijzelendoorn — is shot dead on his bike while on day release from prison in Hoorn.

May: Willem Endstra, 51, is shot and killed in front of his office on the Apollolaan in Amsterdam South. Referred to as "Willem de Zwijger" (Willem the Silent) by the police, Endstra denied a claim by criminal John Mieremet that he was the banker to the underworld in Amsterdam. One of Endstra's former associates was Willem Holleeder, one men jailed in the 1980s for kidnapping Freddy Heineken.

May: Gijs van Dam, 37, is shot in the head on 28 May while sitting in a car in the driveway of his home on the Ir. G. Friedhoffplein and dies soon after at the VU hospital in Amsterdam.

July: Reputed drug dealer Mounir Barsoum is shot dead at the wheel of his car at the corner of the Jan van Galenstraat and Willem de Zwijgerlaan in Amsterdam on 8 July. His daughter, 12, is airlifted to hospital in a critical condition. Barsoum's brother, Magdi, was shot dead in 2002.

2005

October: Former lawyer Evert Hingst is assassinated on the Gerrit van der
Veenstraat in the south of Amsterdam. The public prosecutor was investigating Hingst for alleged involvement in laundering drugs money. Hingst was due to give an interview about claims he was the 'consigliere' (adviser) to the underworld. His former clients include Sam Klepper, reputed gunrunner Mink K. and John Mieremet. Children were playing nearby when Hingst was hit in the head by automatic fire.

1 November: Two days after Hingst's murder, John Mieremet is reported to have been murdered in Thailand. After a previous attempt on his life in 2002, Mieremet claimed that attack was organised by Willem Endstra and that Hingst had help set him up.

2 November: Hours after the report of Mieremet's murder, a 45-year-old man was shot and killed in Amsterdam. Two men armed with an automatic weapon fired at the victim outside his villa on the Johan Braakensiekhof in the Osdorp district of the city. The man was hit several times but managed to get inside his house before dying. Locals identified the victim as estate agent and coffeeshop owner Kees Houtman. NOS news reported Houtman was a friend of Mieremet. Anonymous prosecution sources told NOS that Houtman was involved in major armed robberies in the 1980s and 1990s.

10 November: Gunmen cycled up to George van Kleef, 44, and shot him dead as he left a boating club in the Buitenveldert district of Amsterdam. Crime reporter Peter R. de Vries said Van Kleef was an associate of Kees Houtman and a friend of the "Holleeder family". Magazine 'Vrij Nederland' had coincidentally described Willem Holleeder - one of the men convicted of kidnapping beer magnate Freddy Heineken in 1983 - as the new Godfather of the Dutch underworld.

2006

20 April: Three men shoot dead Anthonie van der Bijl, 50, in his wife's 'De Hallen' café on the corner of the Jan van Galenstraat and Willem de Zwijgerlaan in Amsterdam. Van der Bijl was said to be an associate of Cees Houtman who was murdered on 2 November 2005. Van der Bijl was arrested on 28 March for questioning about a drugs gang and the media suggested the police tried to pressure him into making a statement against Willem Holleeder, but he was "afraid" to do so. He was released from custody on 11 April 2006, the same day as a violent robbery at the café.

[Hollander]

"Hell's Angels delivered to terrorists"
16 May 2007

AMSTERDAM – Two members of the Dutch Hell's Angels were directly involved in supply weapons and explosives to the terrorist organisations Hezbollah in Lebanon and the IRA in Northern Ireland.

According to reliable sources, two new witnesses for the state have said this in the criminal investigation into the Hell's Angels.

The witnesses – two Dutch brothers aged 33 and 38 – say that one of the two weapons traffickers is a former member of the IJmuiden chapter of the Angels, and the other is an active member of the Amsterdam chapter.

The lawyers of the two Hell's Angels, Leon van Kleef and Nico Meijering, say the statements of the brothers cannot be taken seriously.

A spokesperson for the public prosecution department says investigation into the claims from the brothers has not turned up any confirmation so far.

Both witnesses are being held on suspicion of large scale drug trading and reportedly had a lot of dealings with the Hell's Angels in Amsterdam.

The public prosecution department suspects the Hell's Angels of possession and trade of weapons and drugs, threats and extortion. The justice department's attempts to have the organisation banned in civil court have failed so far.

In an interview with Het Parool last weekend prominent members of the Amsterdam Hell's Angels deny all allegations from the justice department.

Meijering and Van Kleef doubt whether the authorities are taking the testimony of the brothers very seriously. "Our clients have not yet been addressed about this matter," the lawyers say.

[GangstersInc]

The son of murdered Dutch crime boss Johnny Mieremet has been arrested in Belgium with 16 others. The men allegedly were part of a criminal organization active in theft, fencing, extortion, intimidation, violence, possession of a fire-arm, and money laundering. The men were arrested when they held a meeting in the village Paal.

[Hollander]

Holleeder trial resumes
10 September 2007

AMSTERDAM (dpa) - The trial against Willem Holleeder, one of the Netherlands' alleged top criminals, was due to resume on Monday with hearings expected to take until mid-November.

Holleeder faces numerous charges including extortion. One of his alleged victims was the late Willem Endstra, a top businessman in commercial and residential property who was gunned down in 2004.

Amsterdam police last week for the first time said they suspect Holleeder commissioned the killing.

Previously the police had only hinted at Holleeder's involvement in "killings," not mentioning any names.

Holleeder's trial was postponed in April after he was diagnosed with heart failure. He subsequently underwent emergency heart surgery and has since been in rehabilitation in prison in Scheveningen, near The Hague.


According to his lawyer Jan-Heijn Kuijpers, Holleeder's health is still very weak and his doctors have recommended that the duration of the daily court sessions be limited.

Extra security measures have been taken at the fortified Amsterdam court including a protective metal wall erected around the building.

At the start of the trial in April missiles were fired at the building in the night preceding the first day of hearings. The rockets damaged the first floor but the culprits were not found.

[GangstersInc]

Holleeder trial witness found dead
9 October 2007

AMSTERDAM - Bram Zeegers was found dead in his Amsterdam home on Tuesday morning. The controversial former lawyer was a witness in the case against Willem Holleeder.

Zeegers had testified in court last week on Monday that Willem Endstra, the real estate magnate murdered in 2004, had told him that he was being blackmailed. "Suspicious circumstances" surround Zeegers' death, BNR Nieuwsradio reported on Tuesday morning.

Zeegers became known for his so-called backseat talks with the murdered real estate magnate Endstra, whose confidant he was for years. Zeegers had claimed to have been present when Holleeder was extorting money from Endstra.

Zeegers submitted 15 extensive statements during the preliminary investigation.

[Copyright Expatica News + ANP 2007]

[Hollander]

Real estate magnate killed in The Hague
8 November 2007

THE HAGUE - 47-year-old real estate magnate Victor 't Hooft was found dead in The Hague on Wednesday evening. His death was the result of a crime. His son-in-law Bart ter Maten has confirmed this to Dutch press agency ANP.

The man was killed in his home on the Bezuidenhoutseweg. Police found the body after a report of a shooting. The police still have no indications of who the perpetrators might be, said a spokesperson for the police on Thursday.

The police are investigating the home and its vicinity, but have found nothing so far. ‘T Hooft's home is relatively near to the Huis ten Bosch, home of Crown Prince Willem Alexander and his family.

Last year 'T Hooft and his son-in-law reopened the famous café De Landbouw on the border of The Hague and Wassenaar.

The café was in danger of closing down permanently because of the construction of a road on the site. 'T Hooft and his son-in-law rebuilt the café in its original state 100 metres from its former location.

Victor 't Hooft was in the news several years ago when alderman of The Hague Hilhorst had to step down in connection with his failure to supervise the sale of the Housing Management company. The municipality wanted to hive off the company and hoped to get EUR 100 million for it.

During the sales process it emerged that the Housing Management company had sold a large number of homes to real estate dealer 'T Hooft, making the company worth a great deal less than originally hoped.

[Hollander]

Prosecution wants 12 years for Holleeder
13 November 2007

AMSTERDAM – The public prosecution department demanded a sentence of 12 years for Willem Holleeder on Monday for blackmailing three businessmen. The most important file in the case is that of real estate magnate Willem Endstra, who was murdered in May 2004.

The trial involves a total of four extortion cases, but the justice department has asked that Holleeder be acquitted for one of the cases. For eight fellow suspects the prosecution demanded sentences ranging from 240 hours of community service to four years in prison.

Holleeder should go to prison not only for extortion, the justice department says, but also for laundering criminal money, participation in a criminal organisation, assault and threatening. His part in the extortion of businessman John Wijsmuller cannot be adequately demonstrated, according to prosecutors.


Holleeder's lawyer Jan-Hein Kuijpers was not surprised at the prosecution's demand against his client. "The court will ultimately decide the outcome."

[Hollander]

Holleeder sentenced to 9 years in prison 21/12/2007 00:00
The Haarlem court sentenced Willem Holleeder to nine years in prison on Friday.


21 December 2007

AMSTERDAM – The Haarlem court sentenced Willem Holleeder to nine years in prison on Friday. He has been convicted of blackmailing three businessmen, leading a criminal organisation, laundering criminal money and committing assault.

The public prosecution department had demanded Holleeder be sentenced to 12 years in prison, for having conspired with various groups of individuals to blackmail wealthy businessmen, including Willem Endstra, who was killed in 2004, and Rolf Friedländer.

Five of the eight fellow suspects standing trial alongside Holleeder were convicted. They were given sentences ranging from 240 hours of community service to two years, nine months in prison.

The defence lawyers argued that there are serious doubts about the reliability of a number of witnesses who made statements in the three-year long investigation. Many of them based their statements on what they had heard from Endstra, which casts doubt on their reliability, the lawyers argued.

The court found however that the prosecution had presented enough reliable statements to convict Holleeder. An important piece of testimony came from Maria Houtman, the widow of Kees Houtman, who was killed in November 2005.

Houtman had also been the victim of blackmail by Holleeder. The court found Maria Houtman's testimony reliable since her story was corroborated by other witnesses.

Willem Holleeder will appeal the nine-year sentence imposed on Friday. His lawyer Jan-Hein Kuijpers said this shortly after the verdict was announced. He said his client was "extremely disappointed" at the verdict.

[BooYaa]

Moroccan Dutch 'New Underworld Bosses'

A group of young Moroccans in Amsterdam could develop into the country's new crime bosses according to Willem Woelders,departing chief of the city's detective squad,in an interview with the AD newspaper on wednesday.

The youths started of as petty criminals five years ago but could take over the role of top underworld figures such as suspected gang boss Willem Holleeder within two years,says Woelders.The group are not afraid of using violence,he adds.

But the young Moroccans face competition from the sons of the current generation of top criminals,adds Woelders."In a number of cases it's:Like father,like son.These kids have grown up in a certain environment.That influences them."

The police chief claimed too that Holleeder,currently on trial for extortion,is also involved in 12 or 13 murders in the criminal circuit.Woelders,who has headed Amsterdam's detective branche since 1991,has taken up a new job as interim chief of the Utrecht police corps.

[BooYaa]

Mink Kok freed on murder charges

Convicted drugs and weapons trader Mink Kok has been found not guilty of the 1993 murder of drugs dealer Jaap van der Heijden in a high-profile and controversial court case.

Van der Heijden was killed when a bag loaded with explosives blew up outside his Alkmaar home.

The judges threw out several witness statements for being unreliable.The public prosecution department said it was 'extremely disappointed' and would appeal

Nick-named the Thinker,Kok is said to be a leading figure in the Dutch underworld and a rival of Willem Holleeder who is currently on trial for blackmail.

[BooYaa]

Football Boss murder 'crime related'

The murder of 40-year-old Nedim Imac,former chairman of successful Amsterdam amateur football club Turkiyemspor,was almost certainly connected to organised crime,police spokesman Olivier Dutilh said on Sunday.

Imac was shot dead in Amsterdam's Osdorp neighborhood on Saturday evening while on his way to join his family in a local restaurant.Police said he was shot by two or three gunmen in there 20s.

[BooYaa]

Dutchman on trial in U.S

Dutchman Marvin Burnet (31) appeared in court in Arizona yesterday charged with smuggling more then 180.000 ecstasy tablets into the U.S. from Holland.Burnet ,who faces more then 20 years in jail if convicted,was extradited to the U.S. by the Dutch authorities.

[BooYaa]

Amsterdam sex club must close

Amsterdam's upmarket brothel Yab Yum is to loose it's operating licence,a court ruled on Friday.

Amsterdam city council wants to withdraw the sex club's permit because of its owner's alleged criminal connections.

The councel claims the club owner Hennie Vittali is a front man for the Hells Angels.

[BooYaa]

'Hells Angels own Yab Yum brothel'

Amsterdam most notorious brothel,Yab Yum,should be closed down because it is owned by the Hells Angels who used blackmail to take it over,city council officials claimed in court on Thursday.

The council refused to renew the brothel's operating license last year but until now has refused to say on what grounds it made the decision.

The council's lawyers told the court in Amsterdam on Thursday that they suspect current owner Hennie Vittali of being a front man for the motorbike gang.They say that Vittali's takeover of the club in 1999 followed blackmail and threat's by the Hells Angels.

The clu on Amsterdam's prestigious Singel canal changed hands for 1.8 million euro,although the market price was put at 9 million euro's,the city council says.

But Yab Yum's lawyer Rob IJsendijk told the court that the council's case was based on assumpitions which were not backed up with facts.

The court will rule within a few days on whether to overturn the council's decision not to extend the club's operating license,news agency ANP reported.

[BooYaa]

Dutch soldiers are also Hells Angels

Several dozen soldiers in the Dutch army are also members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang which the Public Prosecution Department is trying to ban,the defence ministry confirmed on Friday.The ministry could not say exactly how many soldiers were involved.The claims were made in today's newspaper Volkskrant.

The ministry spokesman told ANP that military officials are trying to persuade soldiers to leave the organisation.

One soldier has been suspended from duty because he is being investigated for criminal offences in connection with the Hells Angels,the Volkskrant says.

[BooYaa]

Police silent on identity of car bomb victim

Police in The Haque are refusing to comment on media reports that a man severely injured when his car was blown up by in a suspected car bomb near Delft yesterday is the convicted drugs dealer and violent criminal Jerry R.

Jerry R. survived an earlier attack on his life in 1999.

Police also say there is as yet no connection between yesterday's blast and the finding of explosives underneath the same type of car,a Peugeot 206,by mechanics last week.

[BooYaa]

Probe into motorway car explosion

Forensic experts have begun an investigation into an apparant explosion in a car on the A13 motorway near Delft which left the driver severely injured on Tuesday.

Eyewitnesses said the car,which went up in flames,was a Peugeot.

On Saterday garage workers in Delft discovered what news agency ANP described as a bomb under a Peugeot car which they were repairing.

[BooYaa]

Dutch heroin smugglers arrested in Poland

Two Dutchmen were arrested on the Polish-Ukrainian border at the weekend for smuggling 60 kilos of pure heroin in a hidden compartment in their car,reports ANP news service.

According to customs officials the heroin has a street value of 3 million euros and probably originated from Afghanistan.If convicted of drug smuggling,the two men face a 15 year prison sentence.

[BooYaa]

Dutch arrests in trafficking gang bust

At least six people have been arrested in the Netherlands and more then 50 taken into custody in Italy as Dutch and Italian police dismantled an extensive Nigeria-based drugs and people smuggling gang,according to international media reports on Wednesday.

Last October over 20 arrests were made in the same investigation,mostly in the Netherlands.

According to newsagency AFP,Dutch police have identified over 100 Nigerian women and girls who were forced into prostitution in West-Africa and then sent on to Amsterdam where they were told they would get political asylum as the victims of trafficking.

Atleast 120 girls have disappeared from Dutch asylum seekers centres over the past two years.In October,the public prosecution department said several had been found working as street prostitutes in France,Italy and Spain.

Tuesday's arrests are 'the final act in an investigation which began in the Netherlands',Tom Driessen,head of the detective agency KLPD told Wednesday's newpaper Volkskrant.'It is unigue.....the main suspects have been arrested,the line of people smugglers has been exposed right back to its roots.'

Since the arrests last year,only one under-aged Nigerian girl has claimed asylum in the Netherlands,Driessen said.Before then they arrived at the rate of 100 a year.

Italian ant-mafia prosecutor Pietro Grsso said the arrests had dealt a major blow to a dangerous gang centred on the Nigerian city of Lagos.

[BooYaa]

Holleeder arrested on murder charges

Monday 11 February 2008

Willem Holleeder,currently serving nine years for blackmail,has been charged with involvement in the murder of drugs dealer Srdjan Miranovic in Montenegro in 2006.

Two other men,both also in jail,were arrested in connection with the murder on Friday.

[BooYaa]

Sex club owner says he was blackmailed

Monday 11 February 2008

The former owner of Amsterdam sex club Yab Yum was blackmailed at the end of the 1990s and this was a reason why he sold the club,Theo Heuft told tv show Reporter on Sunday.

Amsterdam city council recently withdrew the club's licence,arguing that the new owner had criminal connections and the club was being used to launder money.

[BooYaa]

Arms trader faces 20 years for war crimes

Monday 11 February 2008

The public prosecution department says arms trader Guus Kouwenhoven should face a 20 year jail sentence if the appeal court finds him guilty of war crimes and illegal arms trading with Liberia during 2000-2003 civil war.

Kouwenhoven was found guilty of arms trading but freed on war crimes charges by a lower court in june 2006.

[BooYaa]

UK court convicts Dutch sisters for heroin

Thursday 14 February 2008

Two Dutch sisters have been found guilty by a British court of smuggling hundreds of kilos heroin into the UK last june.

News agency ANP repoirts that the pair,who are 39 and 45-years-old,attempted to bring 115 kilos of the drug-with a street value of around 6.7 million euros-through the port of Harwich but were caught red-handed by customs officers.

Head of criminal investigations for the custom service John Kay said:"We will do everything in our power to disrupt those smuggling drugs into the UK so that they can be effectively prosecuted".

The women were remanded in custody to be sentenced at a later date.

[BooYaa]

Delft car blast was bomb say police

The exlposion in a car on the motorway near Delft on Tuesday was caused by an explosive device,police confirmed on Thursday evening.

The driver of the Peugot 206 was the convicted drugs baron Jerry Rigters.
Rigters,who was severly injured in the explosion,is still in hospital.

Rigters has survived several other attempts on his life,news agency ANP reports.

[BooYaa]

Endstra murder trial in open court

Amsterdam court has ruled that the forthcoming trial of three men accused of murdering property magnate Willem Endstra will be open to the public.The public prosecution department had wanted a closes court,because of the'sensetivity' of the ongoing investigation.

[BooYaa]

Spy in Mink Kok investigation sacked

The secret service AIVD has sacked a senior agent who had a pivotal role in the investigation into master criminal Mink Kok,newspaper the Telegraaf reports.The news emerged during a court case over the sacking of another AIVD agent who was accused of leaking information about the Mink Kok probe to the underworld.

[BooYaa]

Editor can call lawyer 'mafia buddy'


A court has ruled that Jort Kelder,editor of Quote magazine,was within his rights when he called Bram Moszkovicz,one of Hollands best known lawyers,and Willem Holleeder,one of the country's most notorious crime boss suspects,'mafia buddies'.Moszkovicz is to appeal the decision,says ANP.

The lawyer is defending Holleeder who is awaiting trial for blackmailing several real estate magnates,including Willem Endstra who was murdered in 2004.

Later on Thursday evening,NOS News claimed that Moszcovicz's office leaked documents to the media to blacken the name of Endstra during the time he was a client.Moszcovicz has strongly denied the allegations.

According to NOS,Endstra's heirs have asked the Amsterdam Order of Lawyers to ban Moszcovicz from representing Holleeder in the upcoming trial.

[BooYaa]

Mink Kok's right-hand man killed

Wednesday 13 February 2008

The former right-hand man of notorious master criminal Mink Kok has been assasinated in Madrid.It concerns 41-year-old Rick van der Bunt.The victim was eating in a restaurant within the city of Madrid.When leaving he was waited upon a hired assassin and was riddled with bullets.Van der Bunt had just closed a deal with the justice department of Italy,concerning an old smuggling case.

[BooYaa]

Hells Angel found dead

Wednesday 13 February 2008

One of the suspects of the slayings of three Hells Angels has been found dead yesterday,in a house in Geleen.His mysterious dead is exactly on the day when the three Hells Angels were murdered four years ago.The body of Hells Angel Jack Schuman was found in the morning of Tuesday.His body was not found in his own home but in a house in Geleen comfirms the justice department.

[BooYaa]

Arms trade reason for assassination

Monday 18 February 2008

Robert Knufman,who was assassinated in August in a bar in Amsterdam,was a known figure in the underworld.He feared for his life on the day of the murder.Detectives suspect he got killed because of a conflict about his arms trafficking and search for suspects in his direct environment.

Robert Knufman has served jail sentence for smuggling large amounts of ecstasy to the U.S.,Germany and France.On the day of his arrest police found a large sum of xtc and weapons hidden in a secret compartment under the bathtub of his mother's home.

On the day of his assassination he told friends he was in big trouble but he did not say what kind of trouble or from who.

[BooYaa]

Dutch DNA records 'lost and found' in UK

Wednesday 20 February 2008

British government ministers are being asked to explain how a CD containing the DNA of 2000 wanted criminals from the Netherlands was lost for more than a year,British newspaper The Times reports on Wednesday.

The Dutch authorities sent the disk containing the details of criminals on the run to the British attorney general in January 2007 but it disappeared before being checked against the Uk's national DNA database.

The CD was finally found last month,the Times says.

The paper says that initial checks have found matches against 15 names supplied by the Dutch,including 11 who have committted crimes in Britain over the past year.The final figure could be much higher.

This post has been edited by BooYaa on Feb 21 2008, 01:51 AM

[BooYaa]

Police to target at least 25 crime bosses

Thursday 21 February 2008

The national detective squad plans to put atleast 25 crime bosses out of action,police commissioner Tom Driessen tells Thursdays newspaper the Telegraaf.

Driessen says detectives are adopting a ´target-driven´
approach.´We are talking about people we consider to be professional criminals who have had leadership roles in the underworld for years´,he tells the paper.

Suspected crime bosses such as Dino S.,Stanley H.,Mink K. and Ferry de K. and a number of prominent Hells Angels are among the targets,according to the Telegraaf.

This post has been edited by BooYaa on Feb 21 2008, 05:08 AM

[BooYaa]

Best night at Yab Yum in 1985

Thursday 21 February 2008

Amsterdam brothel Yab Yum had its best ever earnings-just over 40.000 euros-on an evening in 1985 when the Netherlands beat Cyprus 7-1 in a European football cup qualification match,the club's former owner Theo Heuft says in the latest issue of Millionair Magazine.

"The atmosphere was dreadfull",Heuft tells the magazine."Yab Yum is not designed for ordinaire clientele".

[BooYaa]

Lorry found with 'illegal immigrants'

Tuesday 26 February 2008

Eindhoven police have found 13 men hidden in the back of a lorry with Belgium number plates in what they say is a suspected people smuggling case,says news agency ANP.

The English driver has been arrested.Police stopped the lorry after receiving reports that strange noises were coming from it,NOS tv reports.

Eyewitnesses say the men appeared to be of Northern African appearences.

This post has been edited by BooYaa on Feb 26 2008, 10:30 AM

[BooYaa]

British killer sentenced to six year for drugs

Wednesday 27 February 2008

One of the UK's most wanted criminals,James Hurley,has been sentenced to six years in jail for possessing hard drugs by a court in Rotterdam.Hurley was convicted of murdering an off-duty police officer in 1989 but managed to escape in 1994.He was arrested along with others in a drugs raid in The Haque in November 2007 and his identity confirmed after fingerprint checks.News agency ANP says the UK and the Netherlands are in talks on Hurley's extradition.He was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder.



Groningen refused leave to close brothels

Wednesday 27 February 2008

The council of state has told Groningen city council it cannot shut down five brothels because it has not made a proper case for closure.The council wants to withdraw the opening permits,saying the owner does not meet its integrity guidelines.Amsterdam city council is also active involved in withdrawing brothel licences if they suspect the owner has criminal connections.



Customs arrest Colombians with 630.000 euros

Wednesday 27 February 2008

Customs officials have arrested two Colombians nationals trying to smuggle 630.000 euros out of the country (Holland),news agency ANP reported on Wednesday.The incident took place two weeks ago.A third man escaped the scene and is still being sought.

[BooYaa]

Endstra murder suspects released

Thursday 28 February 2008

The suspects in the murder case of Willem Endstra have been released from jail by order of the court in Amsterdam.The evidence provided by the justice department is to weak to keep them detained.

[BooYaa]

Mushroom growers want damages for ban

Wednesday 5 March 2008

hallucinogenic mushroom growers and traders say they plan to claim damages if the government goes ahead with plans to make the sale of fresh "magic" mushrooms illegal.Hundreds of people who work in the sector will lose their jobs,growers say.

[BooYaa]

Homes raided in property fraud probe

Wednesday 5 March 2008

The financial investigation service FIOD-ECD made 12 raids in the Netherlands on Tuesday in connection with possible property investment fraud abroad,said ANP.

The raids on 10 homes and two commercial premises are part of a criminal investigation which was set in motion following a tip off from the financial services watchdog,said ANP.

The total value of the investment involved is believed to run into several million euros.

This post has been edited by BooYaa on Mar 5 2008, 03:03 AM

[BooYaa]

Dutch drugs policy to get 30-year review

Thursday 6 March 2008

A majority of MP's have called for a wide-ranging review of Dutch drugs policy following concerns that an increasing number of youngsters are getting in trouble with soft drugs such as marijuana.

The Netherlands has a policy of turning a blind eye to the possession of up to five grammes of marijuana for personal use.

The call came during a day-long debate on the country's drugs laws.
Health minister Ab Klink agreed to carry out the research which will focus on developments over the past 30 years.The goal is to determine if the practise of ignoring soft-drug use has limited the risks involved with drug use as promised when it was first devised.

However,Klink stressed the research will be "extremely difficult",partly because there is no statistical information dating back to the time soft drugs laws were relaxed.The aim of the change was to take soft drugs out of the criminal sphere.

During Thursday's debate,justice minister Ernst Hirsch Ballin said he is planning to crack down on the production of marijuana in the Netherlands-particularly the number of shops selling supplies for growers,such as seeds,specialist lighting and fertilisers.

Ministers are also looking at ways to reduce the role of the internet in the drugs trade and cut back on drugs tourism.Belgium and Germany have raised concerns about the location of marijuana-selling coffee shops close to their borders.

Measures have already been taken to reduce the number of coffee shops near schools.