Dutch police arrest man suspected in crime reporter’s killing
Dutch police have arrested a man suspected of organising the murder last year of a leading crime reporter.
Peter R de Vries, 64, died nine days after he was shot in the head outside an Amsterdam TV studio last July, a crime that prosecutors say was linked to his role in the trial of a Dutch drugs mafia kingpin.
The public prosecution service identified the person arrested as a 27year-old Polish man and said he was “suspected of directing those who murdered De Vries”.
The Algemeen Dagblad daily tabloid said the man was detained on suspicion of committing another murder last October.
Two other people – a Dutch man identified as Delano G, 22, and a Pole, Kamil E, 36 – went on trial last month in connection with the killing of De Vries.
Prosecutors accuse Delano G of pulling the trigger and Kamil E of driving the getaway car and carrying out surveillance prior to the shooting.
Judges are due to hand down a verdict in the case on 14 July, with the prosecution demanding life sentences for both men. The accused deny involvement in the shooting and declined to testify in court.
De Vries was a household name in the Netherlands, with his own TV show, and his killing sparked outrage across Europe. He first won fame for reporting on the 1983 kidnapping of the Heineken millionaire Freddy Heineken.
Prosecutors say they suspect De Vries was killed because of his role as adviser to a state witness, Nabil B, in the trial of the Netherlands’ most wanted man, Ridouan Taghi, an alleged drugs baron who was arrested in Dubai in 2019. The brother and the lawyer of Nabil B have been shot since he turned state’s witness.