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10 March 2004
AMSTERDAM — The investigation into the murder of three Hells Angels in the south of the Netherlands took a new twist on Wednesday morning when it was revealed two other members of the biker club have been linked to the killings.
The suspects, 43 and 37, were arrested on Monday after an anonymous caller tipped off police the duo may have been planning to kill two ‘hostages’ they were holding as part of the club’s own investigation into the triple murder.
One of the ‘hostage takers’ has been described as the leader or the deputy leader of the De Nomads chapter of the Hells Angels which is based in Oirsbeek in the province of Limburg.
A spokesperson for the Public Prosecutor’s Office (OM) said police think the two club members may have been involved in the kidnapping and murder of the three De Nomad members.
Lawyer Arthur Vonken told NOS news on Tuesday that his clients were “deeply hurt” by the suggestion they had been involved in the deaths of people he described as their “own brothers”.
The bodies of the victims, Paul de Vries, 54, Cor Peijnenburg, 33, and Serge Wagenaar, 34, were found in a stream near the town of Echt on 13 February this year. They had been shot.
They were last seen the previous day while getting into a car with a fourth, unidentified man.
Shortly after the bodies were discovered, the club brought two members of the Curacao-based Hells Angels group to the Netherlands last week as part of its internal investigation.
The Antillean gang members, John D. and Angelo D., were also arrested by police during the rescue operation in Sittard on Monday.
Both ‘hostages’ were reportedly carrying loaded handguns. The OM has not confirmed whether the two Dutch ‘hostage takers’ were also armed.
Detectives sealed off the Oirsbeek clubhouse on Monday and a technical examination of the building is expected to continue into Wednesday.
The motive for the killing of the three men remains unclear but a media report has linked it to a conflict over the theft of 293kg of cocaine with an estimated street value of EUR 7 million.
The three murder victims and a fourth man are suspected by police to have stolen the drugs from a group of Colombians, newspaper De Telegraaf reported earlier in the week.
The Colombians allegedly confronted the Hells Angels about the theft, prompting a disagreement among gang members about how to resolve the situation.
The Antilleans who allegedly negotiated the delivery of the cocaine were held responsible by their Limburg “brothers” for the failure of the transaction and the resulting conflict, the newspaper claimed.
[Copyright Expatica News 2004]
Subject: Dutch news