Crypto telephone and ski mask found in back of highway chase suspect's car

Crime reporter John van den Heuvel was allegedly chased by motorcycles and possibly a second car on Thursday. A driver was arrested that same day on the A2 between Maarssen and Breukelen due to the threatening situation. Police found a ski mask and several phones, including a crypto phone in the suspect's car., Van den Heuvel said on Saturday on the TV program RTL Boulevard.

"My bodyguards were under the impression two motorcycles already followed us from Amsterdam," Van den Heuvel said. The crime reporter said a fast car came along, then possibly another. According to the Van den Heuvel, even after an indication to keep distance, the vehicle continued to drive close behind them. He rushed to the nearby building of the National Police Unit in Driebergen.

The crime reporter said he was shocked. "I don't immediately think of an attack, but I do find it strange. The items found in the car and the background of the suspect are not very reassuring," the crime reporter said.

A 36-year-old man from Utrecht is suspected of preparing a crime that carries a prison sentence of eight years or more. He appeared in the file of the extensive liquidation Marengo process around the main suspect Ridouan Taghi according to various media. The suspect's name was Mourad O. He was interrogated as a witness in the investigation in the spring of 2021, during which he invoked his right to remain silent.

The suspect's lawyer Veerl Hammerstein said on Saturday that he was not aware that Van den Heuvel was in the car. According to her, he was driving too fast and "maybe too close to cars." According to Hammerstein, her client stated that he came from work from the start. He would have stopped immediately after a stop sign from the police. "He cooperated with the investigation. No illicit goods were found in his car," the lawyer said.

Van den Heuvel is under security protection due to his work with the De Telegraaf. At the end of 2018, he was in too much danger to work for three months at RTL Boulevard, where he investigated criminal cases. After the murder of his colleague Peter R. de Vries last summer, he did not appear in the program for some time.

The murder of De Vries may have to do with the role he had as a confidential adviser to a key witness in the Marengo trial. Earlier, the brother and layer of crown witness Nabil B. were also murdered.