Kidnapping of Freddy Heineken

For the 2015 British-Dutch crime drama film, see Kidnapping Freddy Heineken.
Heineken (left) and Doderer (2 December 1983)

Freddy Heineken, chairman of the board of directors and CEO of the brewing company Heineken International and one of the richest people in the Netherlands,[1] and his driver Ab Doderer, were kidnapped on 9 November 1983 in Amsterdam. They were released when Heineken's family paid, against police advice, a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders (~US$81.74 million in 2023 terms) on 30 November of that year. The kidnappers—Cor van Hout, Willem Holleeder, Jan Boellaard, Frans Meijer, and Martin Erkamps—were all eventually caught[2][3] and served prison terms.

Before being extradited, Van Hout and Holleeder stayed for more than three years in France, first on the run, then in prison, and then, awaiting a change of the extradition treaty, under house arrest, and finally in prison again.[citation needed] Meijer escaped and lived in Paraguay for years, until he was discovered by Peter R. de Vries and imprisoned there.[citation needed]

In 2003, Meijer stopped resisting his extradition to the Netherlands, and was transferred to a Dutch prison to serve the last part of his term. The kidnapping and subsequent trials and extraditions drew national attention and received broad media coverage.[4] Several books were published on the kidnapping and two movies were made. Several of the kidnappers later became well-known figures in Dutch organized crime.

Shortly after his release Van Hout was jailed once again, this time for four years, for his role in a drug smuggling ring.[citation needed]

After two earlier failed attempts, Van Hout was assassinated on 24 January 2003 in Amstelveen,[5][6][7] a year after being freed a second time, and had a "mafia-style" funeral, with a white hearse pulled by eight Friesian horses leading a procession of 15 white limousines.[8]

  1. ^ "Freddy Heineken" (in Dutch). Amsterdam City Archives. Archived from the original on 29 May 2014. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  2. ^ "Arrest in Heineken kidnap". The San Francisco Examiner. San Francisco, California: Newspapers.com. February 29, 1984. p. 26. Retrieved 1 February 2021. AMSTERDAM Police in Paris today arrested two leading suspects in the kidnapping of brewery chairman Alfred Heineken, Dutch police said. Police spokesman Bernard Scholten said Cor van 1 lout, 26, and Wim I lolleeder, 25, both of Amsterdam, were picked up at an apartment house in Paris by two Dutch detectives acting in cooperation with F'rench police. The spokesman said the apartment house had been under observation for several days. Heineken, 60, and his chauffeur Ab Doderer, 57, were kidnapped last Nov. 9 and freed three weeks later by police who found them chained inside a warehouse on the outskirts of Amsterdam. A ransom reported to be $10 million to $11.6 million was paid, but most of it has been recovered.
  3. ^ "Heineken kidnapping suspects arrested". The News Journal. Wilmington, Delaware: Newspapers.com. February 29, 1984. p. 2. Retrieved 1 February 2021. AMSTERDAM, Netherlands -Police in Paris arrested two leading suspects in the kidnapping of brewery chairman Alfred Heineken, Dutch police said. Police spokesman Bernard Scholten said Cor van Hout, 26, and Wim Holleeder, 25, both of Amsterdam, were picked up at an apartment house in Paris by two Dutch detectives acting in cooperation with French police.
  4. ^ "Koekje van eigen deeg voor Cor van Hout" (in Dutch). Telegraaf. 30 March 1996. Archived from the original on 16 February 2019. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
  5. ^ "Profiel zaak Holleeder: Cor van Hout". NU (in Dutch). 5 February 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  6. ^ "Holleeder houdt vol: Mieremet zat achter moord op Cor van Hout". Telegraaf (in Dutch). 24 November 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  7. ^ "Ex-vriendin: Holleeder 'blij' na moord op 'bloedgabber' Van Hout". RTL Nieuws (in Dutch). 29 March 2018. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  8. ^ How a Dutch Gangster was Betrayed by His Sister | The Backstory. New York: The New Yorker.