Martin Kok

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Martin Kok
Born(1967-06-25)25 June 1967
Edam, Netherlands
Died8 December 2016(2016-12-08) (aged 49)
Laren, Netherlands

Martin Kok (25 June 1967 – 8 December 2016) was a Dutch criminal turned blogger.[1]

Early life[edit]

He grew up in Volendam and as a teenager sold eels along with his father and brother, dressed in traditional Volendammer garb of red shirt, baggy black pants, and clogs.[1] He didn't enjoy it, but started selling eels in bars frequented by criminals and then moved into cocaine dealing.[1] He was nicknamed "the Stutterer" due to a speech disorder.[1]

Criminal career[edit]

In 1988 he shot at and missed a former schoolmate who had cut into his business.[1] Several months later he fought with a rival, hitting him with a barstool.[1] The rival died of his injuries the following day and Kok was sentenced to five years in prison.[1] During this imprisonment he befriended Willem Holleeder, who was in prison for the kidnapping of Freddy Heineken.[1] He also befriended Cor van Hout, an accomplice of Holleeder in the kidnapping.[1]

On release from prison he murdered the boyfriend of a former partner.[1] He also expanded his business into prostitution.[1]

Blogging[edit]

He started a crime blog called "Vlinderscrime" (vlinder being the Dutch word for "butterfly") in February 2015.[1] He had many contacts in the criminal world, both in and outside of jail.[1] He reported on criminals from many backgrounds, often giving full names, instead of the Dutch media tradition of given name and initial.[1]

He enjoyed his newfound fame and would often taunt other criminals.[1] He was sponsored by and ran adverts for MPC, a company that provided encrypted phones to criminals.[2]

Assassination attempts[edit]

Someone tried to shoot him while he was at home in 2015 but failed, leaving bullet holes in his car.[1] In 2016 an explosive device was found under his car.[1]

Death[edit]

On 8 December 2016 he was walking with another man in Amsterdam when CCTV showed someone running up behind him outside the Citizen M hotel and pointing a gun at him.[1][3] It is not clear if the gun jammed or if the shooter lost nerve.[1] The target seemed to be unaware of the attempt on his life.[1] Later that evening, outside a sex club in Laren, a second attempt was made, which succeeded.[1][4][3]

He was buried in Vredenhof Cemetery.[1]

Aftermath[edit]

The murder was linked to a Scottish criminal organisation by Scottish police who had investigated them via Operation Escalade.[3]

A European Arrest Warrant was issued for Christopher Hughes in relation to the murder.[5] He was faced with charges of concealing money and supplying encrypted devices to others (including Kok), a second charge relating to the supply of cocaine and a final charge in relation to the murder of Kok.[4] In April 2022 Hughes was convicted at the High Court in Stirling, Scotland and jailed for at least 25 years.[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Barnes, David (8 February 2018). "The Strange Life of a Murderer Turned Crime Blogger". Wired. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  2. ^ Cox, Joseph (24 October 2018). "Encrypted Phone Company Helped Plan Crime Blogger's Murder, Cops and Source Say". Motherboard. Retrieved 31 May 2022.
  3. ^ a b c Silvester, Norman (26 August 2018). "Notorious Scots crime gang linked to brutal gun murder at Dutch sex club". Daily Record. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  4. ^ a b "Man denies role in sex club murder of Dutch crime writer". BBC News. 7 April 2021. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  5. ^ "Glasgow man in court after murder of Dutch crime writer". BBC News. 12 June 2020. Retrieved 21 June 2021.
  6. ^ "Scottish gangster lured crime writer to 'execution' outside sex club". STV News. 22 April 2022. Retrieved 22 April 2022.
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