Three arrested for assassination of key witness' brother

The police arrested three suspects in connection with the murder of Reduan Bakkali, brother of key witness Nabil Bakkali, in Amsterdam on Thursday. The main suspect was arrested on Friday night, the other two on Saturday morning, the police said in a statement.

Nabil Bakkali is a key witness in the case surrounding various gang related assassinations and attempts thereto in Amsterdam and Utrecht. His brother Reduan was shot and killed at his business on TT. Melissaweg on Thursday morning - less than a week after the Public Prosecutor announced that Nabil agreed to give witness statements regarding the assassinations in return for protection. As far as is known, this is the first time a family member of a key witness is murdered in the Netherlands.

DNA traces were found at the scene of Reduan's murder. The Netherlands Forensic Institute matched these traces with a DNA profile in the police database. Further investigation revealed that the person, a 41-year-old man, was staying at an address in Hilversum. He was arrested on Friday night.

A second suspect, a 34-year-old man, was arrested on the A13 during the early hours of Saturday morning. And a 34-year-old man was arrested in Westland later that morning. These two are suspected of illegal firearms possession and involvement in Reduan Bakkali's murder. The police seized a number of firearms, including a few automatic firearms.

All three suspects are in restricted custody. This means that the only contact with the outside world they are allowed, is with their lawyers.