Police arrest 11 Hells Angels murder suspects

17 June 2004

AMSTERDAM — Police arrested on Wednesday night 10 members of the Hells Angels motorcycle gang on suspicion of involvement in the murders of three club members in February. An 11th gang member reported to police on Thursday.

The public prosecution confirmed the arrests on Thursday and said most of them were made as raids were conducted at various locations, including during a police operation at a trailer park in the Limburg village of Guttecoven.

Besides the unspecified number of arrests at the park itself, a cannabis plantation was also reportedly found and energy company Essent was called in to check for illegal use of electricity. The police operation ended at about 1am on Thursday.

Meanwhile, the bodies of three Hells Angels gang members were found on 13 February in a stream in the southern Dutch town of Echt. The victims — members of the Nomads gang affiliated with the Angels — had been shot several times.

Police arrested three men on suspicion of involvement in the murders in March and the Amsterdam Court denied a request from the defence on Tuesday to release two of the suspects — also members of the Nomads gang — from remand detention.

The Nomads gang claims that the two detainees are innocent of the murders. Meanwhile, a third suspect is also still in detention, news agency ANP reported.

The investigation by the criminal investigation department is focusing on whether the three victims were killed based on a club decision. It is also alleged the three men were murdered in relation to a conflict over a deal involving 300kg of cocaine.

Authorities raided the homes of the Wednesday-arrested suspects, searching for the murder weapons. In total, six guns were seized.

Subject: Dutch news