Woman targeted in two shootings held for kidnapping, extortion
A 36-year-old woman targeted in two shootings in 2015 and 2016 is now in police custody herself. She was arrested late last month along with six other suspects on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of a 53-year-old man in Nunspeet in December last year, Brabants Dagblad reports
According to the newspaper, the woman in question is Bianca van der H. from Oss. She was the girlfriend of weed dealer Hans van Geenen, who was killed in a shootout on the A73 between Venlo and Nijmegen in 2008. Van der H. was also involved in the cannabis trade.
Van der H. was targeted in two attempted assassinations in Oss and Berghem in 2015 and 2016. The police also believe that she was the actual target of a shooting in Berghem, in which 28-year-old Mandy van der Sluys from Oss was shot in the head in the De Merx parking lot. She somehow survived without any lasting injury.
The woman is now in custody on suspicion of involvement in the kidnapping of Ronald Maurits from Doornspijk, not far from Nunspeet. His kidnapping in December was filmed by a local resident. The video shows how Maurits is forced out of his car and forced into a BMW with his hands tied behind his back before the BMW and a van drive off.
The van was later found empty at a carpool area in Nunspeet and teh BMW was found burnt out in Overlangel near Oss. The man himself was released in a secluded spot in Drunen. He made his way back home, arriving some 12 hours after being abducted. The motive for his kidnapping hasn't been revealed.
According to the newspaper, Maurits is a financial broker who has contact with people fro the underworld. For example, he did business with businessman Jan Jaap de B., who ws in the speedboats trade with Willem Endstra. The newspaper's sources claim that Maurits was targeted by a gang of extortionists from Brabant and Zuid-Holland.
Van der H. was remanded into custody until the first hearing in the kidnapping case, expected to take place in the summer. She is currently in restricted custody, only allowed contact with her lawyer.
