Scottish gangland figure guilty of killing Dutch crime writer
A Scottish member of a major crime gang has been convicted of the assassination of a Dutch underworld figure outside a sex club.
Christopher Hughes lured Martin Kok, 49, to his death before he was shot eight times by a gunman in Laren, the Netherlands, on December 8, 2016.
The 33 year-old was a high ranking member of the feared crime clan which had worldwide connections including with Colombian drug cartels and the Italian mafia.
On the instructions of the mob, Hughes met Kok at an Amsterdamhotelthentheboccaccio sex club and alerted others to where he was.
As the pair later left - and Hughes patted a cat outside - double murderer Kok was gunned down as a "favour" for seemingly crossing Moroccanbased gangsters.
Hugheswasquizzedbydutch policethenextdaybeforebeing allowed to leave. He remained at large as the international probe into the brothel shooting continued.
It was his apparent confession to a fellow gang member turned supergrass which lead to his downfall.
Hughes was caught at a hotel inturininitalyinjanuary2020 and returned to Scotland on a European Arrest Warrant.
He now faces a life sentence afterbeingconvictedatthehigh Court in Glasgow of Kok’s murder and involvement in serious organised crime between July 2013 and January 2020.
The killing - despite happening abroad - was investigated as part of the huge Police Scotlandprobeoperationescalade, which has already seen a string of gang members jailed for a total of more than 100 years.
The mob are said to be at the “top of the chain” for drug traffickingintheukwhilealsohavingan“unprecedented”arsenal of firearms at their disposal.
The clan forged links with international mobsters and mingled at showbiz parties with famous names, including on a luxury yacht to the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix where rappers 50 Cent and Nicki Minaj were on board.
Hughes, a trusted member, was listed by HMRC as “unemployed” - but £40,000-a-week “wages” earned him a luxury lifestyle in The Algarve.
The supergrass said he was told to set a meeting up in an Amsterdam hotel between Hughes and Kok.
Kok - a convicted murderer was latterly a crime writer who had set up a website exposing criminals in his homeland.
Sentence was deferred.