According to the Public Prosecution Service (OM), suspect Raily B. directed some of the suspects in the murder of Peter R. de Vries from his cell in Curaçao. The recently arrested man provided them with money, among other things.
Raily B. was arrested on April 14 in his cell in Curaçao. The 39-year-old man with Dutch nationality is serving a sentence of nearly twenty years for a violent crime, among other things. He is now being held in the extra-secure institution in Vught. He was not present at the trial on Thursday.
The public prosecutor describes B. as a leader of the Antillean branch of the criminal organization behind the murder of De Vries in July 2021. These are men who watched the crime journalist before the murder and filmed him after the attack.
According to the OM, decrypted messages show that B. provided the suspects with their daily expenses through a secret network of payments. “It’s not about large sums, but this flow of money is necessary to keep the machinery of the organization running,” the prosecutor said.
De Vries was shot on July 6, 2021, in the Lange Leidsedwarstraat in Amsterdam as he was on his way to his car after a broadcast of RTL Boulevard. Nine days later, he died of his injuries. Nine people have already been prosecuted for the murder, six of whom have been convicted and three acquitted. Appeals have been filed in all cases.
The OM has continued to investigate the clients behind the murder, with the arrest of B. as a result. The public prosecutor said that it is not clear who ordered B. to murder De Vries. “In that regard, there is still a blind spot.”