Bruinsma’s killer dies in a hail of bullets

18 March 2004

AMSTERDAM — The former Dutch police detective, who had almost completed his sentence for slaying infamous drugs baron Klaas Bruinsma, was shot dead on Thursday.

Martin Hoogland, 47, was knocked off his bicycle by automatic fire at midday in the town Hoorn.  He died instantly, police spokesman Ger van Dijk confirmed to news agency Novum.

The killer escaped and the murder weapon has not been recovered.

Hoogland was a police officer in Amsterdam but fell in with the Yugoslavian mafia in the 1980s and became an assassin.

Following an argument with Bruinsma, Hoogland shot the mafia boss in front of the Hilton Hotel in Amsterdam on 27 June 1991.

He denied the murder but was sentenced by a court in Amsterdam in 1993 to a total of 20 years in jail. He received a 10-year term for killing Bruinsma and a consecutive 10 years for the murder of another drug dealer Tony Hijzelendoorn.

Hoogland was serving the remainder of his sentence in the open prison in Hoorn in anticipation of being released in July.

Bruinsma was in the news last year when it emerged he had a relationship with Mabel Wisse Smit — the fiancee of Prince Johan Friso — in 1989 and 1990. The Prince is the second son of Queen Beatrix.

Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende decided not to seek parliament’s approval for the royal wedding because Wisse Smit had lied to him about the extent and nature of her relationship with Bruinsma.

As a result, Prince Johan Friso will lose his right to the throne when he marries Wisse Smit in April.

[Copyright Expatica News 2004]

Subject: Dutch news