No Surrender leader arrested on extortion, assault charges

Henk Kuipers, the leader of outlaw motorcycle club No Surrender, was arrested in his home in Emmen on Tuesday morning. The 53-year-old man is suspected of assault, extortion, threats, violent theft and forgery. A 59-year-old man from Sneek was also arrested on suspicion of forgery and extortion, the Public Prosecutor announced.

The Prosecutor received information that "a large number" of Kuipers' victims are scared to report him to the police. "When people do not report out of fear, this can make our investigation more difficult. Mor importantly however, is that the safety of our society is affected," the Prosecutor said. The Public Prosecutor therefore now "explicitly calls on victims" to come forward.

Kuipers is suspected of assaulting, robbing, and extorting at least eight members of No Surrender between 2014 and present because they did not follow the club rules in his eyes. According to the Prosecutor, he punished members he put out of the club with fines and forced them to hand over valuables. The Prosecutor also believes that Kuipers tried to extort at least three entrepreneurs.

The man from Sneek is suspected of using Kuipers to solve business conflicts, while knowing that Kuipers would commit crimes to do so.

Both suspects are in custody and their homes and an office premises in Drachten are being search.

These arrests form part of a long ongoing investigation into criminal activities within No Surrender. According to the Prosecutor, the investigation is not focused on individuals, but on a structural approach to dealing with these outlaw motorcycle clubs.

Early this year the No Surrender's clubhouse in Emmen was closed and demolished because it was illegally built on municipal land. Investigation revealed that the clubhouse was used for drug trafficking.