Police arrest ‘brain’ behind Dam gangland slaying

28 January 2004

AMSTERDAM — The alleged brain behind the gangland slaying of Bulgarian drugs baron Konstantin Dimitrov, who was shot and killed in broad daylight on Dam Square in the centre of Amsterdam last year, has been reportedly arrested.

Bulgarian media reported that police arrested six people last week in the city of Sliven, including Yosif Yosifov, who is alleged to have been in contact with the Dutch man accused of the 6 December shooting.

Yosifov reportedly left the Netherlands three days before the liquidation.  He allegedly plays an important role in the export of amphetamines and heroin from Bulgaria to Western Europe. He appeared in court in the Bulgarian capital Sophia on Tuesday.

Dimitrov, 33, was shot in the head on Dam Square and died at the scene. His 23-year-old girlfriend, Bulgarian photo model Tsetsi Krassimirova, was also wounded, but her injuries were not life-threatening.

The criminal and his girlfriend had been staying at the Krasnapolsky hotel since the start of November. Bulgarian Interior State Secretary Bojko Borisov claimed that Dimitrov was one of the most notorious and violent criminals of the East European country.

A 37-year-old Dutchman was arrested in a city café shortly after the 3.45pm shooting. He had stopped to order a coffee in a cafe on the Ceintuurbaan in De Pijp, a district in Amsterdam. He is also suspected of having criminal links to the drug world.

The alleged murder weapon was found by fire brigade divers in the canal along the Oudezijds Voorburgwal that same afternoon. Witnesses had followed the shooter and saw where he threw the pistol into the water.

The Dam Square slaying was the latest in a long line of gangland liquidations in the Dutch capital and police are concerned that such killings could result in the injury or death of innocent bystanders. But police have also admitted there is little they can to stop them occurring.

Meanwhile, press agency Novum Nieuws reported that a man was shot and seriously injured on the Levantkade in Amsterdam on Wednesday.

Police spokesman Ron Moes said the unidentified victim had been brought to hospital with a chest wound, but no arrests were made in the hours after the incident. The motive for the attack was also unclear.

[Copyright Expatica News 2004]

Subject: Dutch news