Holleeder held two more weeks in murder syndicate investigation

A court magistrate ordered Willem Holleeder to be detained for a further two weeks, following his arrest on Saturday, December 13. Holleeder was arrested on suspicion of involvement in the assassinations of Kees Houtman in 2005 and Thomas van der Bijl in 2006. Holleeder was arrested as a result of "recent information" furnished by Fred Ros. Ros's testimony revealed that Holleeder indirectly ordered the murders of Houtman and van der Bijl. Another witness in the murder investigation, Peter la S., has also made incriminating allegations against Holleeder and his involvement in the murders. Fred Ros was sentenced to thirty years in prison. In return for his testimony, Ros's sentence has been halved. Holleeder was arrested and convicted for the extortion of four men, including Willem Endstra (who was murdered in 2004 after a falling-out with Holleeder) and Kees Houtman in 2007. He served nine years in prison, and was released in 2012. In 1983 Holleeder was sentenced to eleven years in prison for the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken, in which €16 million ransom was collected.