AMSTERDAM / HAMBURG — A thirteen-year-old boy from the Amsterdam region, who, according to the German newspaper Image has Surinamese roots, is central to a bizarre European crime file. The Public Prosecution Service (OM) in the Netherlands suspects 26-year-old Melissa P. from Amsterdam of having recruited the young high school student through Snapchat to assassinate a leading member of the Hells Angels in Hamburg, Germany.
The teenager was arrested by police in Hamburg last June before he could carry out the deadly task. During his arrest, German police found a firearm and no fewer than fifty bullets. He also had two specific addresses with him that led directly to the target. The assassination mission was narrowly foiled because the boy was behaving suspiciously. Due to his young age, he cannot be prosecuted in Germany; he has now been handed over to the Dutch authorities.
“Vulnerable minors are abused by criminal networks as cheap and easily replaceable child soldiers who act as ‘hitters’“
According to a police spokesperson in Hamburg, the police had indications about who the victim should have been, but no information could be provided to protect the ongoing investigation. In August the intended target would according to Image were still murdered. The background is a conflict in the criminal environment.
From missing person to hitman
The thirteen-year-old’s mother posted a desperate appeal on social media in June after reporting her son missing to the Dutch police. The police investigation shows that the boy should initially have traveled to Germany by bus. The bus ticket had already been paid for by Melissa P., but because the teenager had no identification with him, he was stranded at Amsterdam-Sloterdijk station.
Camera images show that P. then personally picked him up there and drove him by car to Hamburg via Amsterdam-Zuidoost. Travel movements from her phone confirm this trip to Germany.
Network of child soldiers
The case sheds a grim light on the way in which vulnerable minors – from, among others, the Surinamese-Dutch community – are abused by criminal networks as cheap and easily replaceable child soldiers who serve as ‘hitters‘ function. Melissa P., who is said to have ties to a Lebanese family clan, is seen by the judiciary as the lynchpin and coordinator of this extremely violent revenue model.
In addition to the incident in Hamburg, she is also suspected of directing an eighteen-year-old gunman who shot at a house in Wormerveer in broad daylight. In addition, she is said to have provided assistance to a Norwegian and a Swedish teenager (nineteen and sixteen years old) who were caught with heavy firearms in an Amsterdam hotel in March, just before they could commit liquidation.
During the preliminary trial in Amsterdam, Melissa P.’s lawyer demanded her release, stating that she is not the brains behind the organization. However, the judge decided that she will remain in custody for the time being. The substantive treatment of this controversial case will continue in February.
