On Monday, April 14, a 39-year-old man was arrested in Willemstad, Curaçao, on suspicion of involvement in the criminal organization behind the murder of Peter R. de Vries. The suspect, who was born in Curaçao and holds Dutch nationality, has been detained since 2014 in the Center for Detention and Correction Curaçao.
The suspect will be transferred from Curaçao to the Netherlands by the authorities. In the Netherlands, the suspect will be presented for questioning to the examining magistrate, who had previously issued a detention order for the suspect.
The man is suspected of having a leading role in a criminal organization aimed at committing violence, which was also behind the murder of De Vries. The crime reporter was shot on the street in the heart of Amsterdam on July 6, 2021. Nine people have already stood trial for the assassination. Six suspects, including the executors of the murder, were sentenced to high prison sentences in June 2024. Three other suspects were acquitted. Appeals have been filed in all nine cases.
The National Investigation and Interventions Unit (LO) has continued to investigate the mastermind(s) behind the attack on De Vries. In this investigation into the higher echelon, led by the National Prosecutors Office, the man in Curaçao has come into view as a suspect.