The kidnappers of a 15-year-old boy in Amsterdam last January, according to the judiciary, had previously planned to kidnap his boyfriend. The plan failed, but the kidnappers wanted to do this because the boyfriend of the 15-year-old victim would also have been involved in a robbery at Minervaplein in Amsterdam South. This writes Het Parool, which attended the first introductory hearing of the case on Friday.
2 tons of cash
The kidnapping seems to be related to a home robbery at Minervaplein in the Amsterdam Pijp, on December 18, 2022. The 15-year-old victim is said to have been present together with his boyfriend. During the robbery at the house of a girlfriend of the boys, approximately 200,000 euros in cash and expensive watches and bags were stolen by two armed robbers.
After the robbery, the girlfriend and her brother were convinced that the boys, in collaboration with the robbers, had played doubles.
clamped down
On January 10, there was a high-speed chase on the A27, among other things. The police forced a white van to stop near Groenekan, which was on its way to a rented holiday home in Langbroek. Officers approached the vehicle with guns drawn, after which three suspects were arrested.
In the cargo area was a 15-year-old boy from Amsterdam who had been kidnapped 45 minutes earlier. The victim was dragged into the van at his home on Tweede Jan Steenstraat in De Pijp that morning when the kidnappers asked him to help slide a ladder into the van. He then had a bag over his head, was handcuffed and gag-balled in his mouth.
Seven suspects
On March 8, a 41-year-old man from Amsterdam and three women – aged 28, 31 and 35 – from Amsterdam and Amstelveen were arrested. That was after the police released further information about the kidnapping. Three men had already been arrested on the day of the kidnapping.
Het Parool writes that there are seven suspects in the kidnapping. It concerns five men – including Diëgo S. (34), Eedward N. (30), Faysal A. (41) and Victor K. (36) – and two women. According to the Public Prosecution Service, they had rented two vans and three cars, bought telephones, a stun gun and tear gas and rented the holiday home in Langbroek, the windows of which were shuttered.
Six suspects remain in custody, one of the women (the one who would have rented the holiday home) has since been released.
Martial artist
The driver of the van is said to have been martial artist Victor “Tigri” K. from Almere. He was heard as a suspect last year in the case of the death of professional football player Jody Lukoki (29) and was suspected of assault. K. was previously a suspect in the murder case of Esther Paul from Almere in 2017. The Public Prosecution Service decided in 2019 not to prosecute K. due to a lack of evidence.
In the case of the kidnapping of the 15-year-old boy, there is a new preliminary hearing on July 7. It is still unclear when the substantive treatment will start.
