Dutch Crime Boss Holleeder Arrested For Alleged Death Threats

[News_Editor]

<p>HILVERSUM, THE NETHERLANDS (BNO NEWS) -- Dutch crime boss Willem Holleeder, who is notorious for the 1983 kidnapping of beer tycoon Freddy Heineken, was arrested Saturday after allegedly making death threats to a crime reporter. He was later released pending further action.

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<p>A brief statement from the prosecutor's office in Central-Netherlands said Holleeder, 54, was arrested on Saturday morning after voluntarily going to a police station in Hilversum, a town in the province of North Holland. He was arrested as a suspect in the case and was questioned by officers.

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<p>The arrest came a day after well-known crime reporter Peter R. de Vries said he had filed a criminal complaint in the city of Utrecht after being threatened by Holleeder. "Crazed Willem Holleeder threatened me with death at my home address in the presence of my wife," he wrote on the social networking website Twitter.

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<p>De Vries said Holleeder had showed up at his house unannounced, apparently to discuss a disagreement over a film. "Holleeder didn't want his name/character in [an] American film. Earlier [he] gave permission," he said in an update on Saturday. "Scenario is ready and it stays like that. With him in it."

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<p>Police are expected to finish the complaint filed by De Vries and forward it to the prosecutor's office. "Pending the criminal complaint, Mr. Holleeder has been released," the statement said. "He remains a suspect in the case. After receiving the criminal complaint, the prosecutor's office will study the case and take a decision as soon as possible."

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<p>Holleeder, who previously appeared to have a friendly relationship with De Vries, was released in January 2012 after serving two-thirds of a nine-year jail sentence for extorting money from two men who were later killed. He also spent more than six years in jail for kidnapping beer tycoon Freddy Heineken and his driver in 1983, leading to a three-week hostage crisis before a multi-million ransom was paid and both were released unharmed.

</p> <p> (Copyright 2013 by BNO News B.V. All rights reserved. Info: [email protected].) </p>