Wednesday, 18 June 2014 - 13:34
10-20 years in prison for machine gun executions
The four culprits of a triple murder in Purmerland in North Holland were convicted to sentences between ten and 20 yeas yesterday. The suspects killed three people at different times with a machine gun.
The suspects killed three people. The first was 34-year-old Mohamed Benbouker who they shot on the Kanaaldijk at Landsmeer. They dumped his body in the Noordhollands Kanaal, it was found around a month later.
The second victims were 42-year-old Arjan Kools and 40-year-old Maurice Bouhuijs, who were shot a little further away on a parking lot in Purmerland. Their bodies were discovered by a passer-by that same evening.
According to the culprits, the first victim, Benbouker, blackmailed and abused one of the suspects, Arnold van L. He then reportedly set his sights on the marijuana plantation belonging to L. and another suspect.
After murdering Benbouker, one of the suspects noted that two men were awaiting Benbouker on a parking lot. To avoid trouble, they went to finish them off.
The 38-year-old James P. from Suriname got a 20 year sentence. Thomas L. (35) from Amsterdam and Martijn W. (42) from Purmerend got ten years, and Arnold van L. (47) from Purmerend got 12 years. James P. got the heaviest sentence because he fired the fatal shots. The court in Purmerend called it "incomprehensible."
A fifth suspect shot himself at his arrest. He died in hospital later. If this suspect were still alive, a life-long prison sentence would have been demanded against him.