Amsterdam criminal assassinated in Suriname

A man who narrowly escaped an assassination attempt in a café in Amsterdam Oost last year was killed in a café in Paramaribo Noord in Suriname early this morning.

Marchano Pocorni (37) who has been linked to the killing of Amsterdam drug criminal Najeb Bouhbouh in Antwerp in October 2012, was sitting in a café at Heliumstraat in Paramaribo Noord around 4.00am when shooters opened fire on him. He was struck in the legs, thighs and head and died on the spot. A second man got injured during the shooting.

Suriname police say that while they have not made any arrests yet, they have indications. Spokesman Humphrey Naarden told journalists that there are two persons of interest.

Pocorni’s death is the umpteenth in an unforgiving underworld war in Amsterdam that has left more than ten men dead so far. Sources say the killings were catalyzed by the assassination of Bouhbouh, who was a close friend and business partner of drug dealer Gwenette Martha who was assassinated in Amstelveen in May last year.

It is not clear if Pocorni had been in Suriname on vacation or whether he had relocated to his native country to escape the violence. Last year October he had just left a Café De Zon in Amsterdam Oost, when two shooters barged in around 11.00pm and started shooting. Two other patrons got injured, one of them seriously.

The shooters managed to escape, opening fire at police officers that set chase after them. The shooting was filmed by security cameras in the cafe, but the shooters could to be identified.