John Mieremet
Encyclopedia
Johannes Mieremet (May 10, 1960 – November 2, 2005) was a Dutch underworld figure associated with the Willem Endstra
extortion
and assassination
. Mieremet's former lawyer Evert Hingst
was gunned down on Monday October 31, 2005. His murder was one of several in a string of three related underworld liquidations during late October and early November 2005 and one in a longer series of liquidations that has started in 2000.
Born in Amsterdam
, Mieremet was murdered while conducting business in Pattaya
, Thailand
at around 10:00 a.m. local time. He had survived several earlier assassination attempts; one in 2002, and another on February 26, 2005, when he was shot in the leg and stomach by two perpetrators on a motorcycle.
due to the supposedly efficient, effective and undetectable manner in which they got rid of their opponents. No criminal investigation directed at Mieremet was currently being conducted. Just as Klepper he seemed to be invincible to the authorities' efforts. Another famous partner of the duo was Klaas Bruinsma
.
"Let them get rid of each other. Great." This was Mieremet's reaction when he heard about the murder of Evert Hingst
. Just a few days before his own demise, on the evening of Hingst's murder Mieremet gave a telephone interview to crime reporter John van den Heuvel for his new television programme. "They all know too much about each other and now they are messing around amongst themselves. They don't trust each other anymore, fun huh?".
"This actually makes me happy. I know that I survived Evert. That's one thing that's sure. He belonged between the garbage where he was lying on Monday evening."
The obviously gleeful statements probably relates to the fact that Mieremet accused Hingst of being involved in the nearly-successful assassination attempt on his life in Amsterdam. In 2002, while leaving Hingst's office, who at the time was one of his lawyers, Mieremet was targeted by a gunman and was seriously wounded. After his recovery he openly talked about the connections between the real-estate business and the underworld in an interview given to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf
. He named Willem Endstra
, who himself was assassinated in 2004, as the 'underworld banker'. He suspected Endstra to be one of the instigators of the attempt on his life.
town of Neerpelt
.
According to local Thai media, Mieremet was shot at 10:00 a.m. in his office in Pattaya
, a beach resort in Chonburi Province
. A Pattaya People journalist stated that the gunman arrived on the back of a moped and walked into Mieremet's office. Inside the two spoke, possibly in Dutch. At that time the gunman pulled his gun and shot Mieremet in the head. The shooter was described as a 'rather large man wearing a helmet'. The shooter kept on firing while retreating from the office. After the murder he slowly walked outside, stepped on his moped and disappeared. The significant height of the murderer has led to a suggestion that the murderer was not Thai. Interestingly, Mieremet's bodyguard managed to duck for cover just in time, avoiding being shot at all.
There is no exact cause for the assassination that is easy to pinpoint. One of the many theories is that of a conflict between Dutch and Yugoslav criminals about a shipment of drugs. This has supposedly led to a string of liquidations in past years. It seems unlikely, however that this one single incident has led to such a long streak of liquidations. It is more likely that it has been caused by a series of lesser incidents.
Willem Endstra
Willem Alexander Arnold Peter Minne Endstra was a Dutch real estate trader.Endstra started his own business, Convoy Vastgoed BV, in 1987 after having worked in his parents' real estate business and studying law at the Vrije Universiteit.In 1992 Endstra was investigated for allegedly using his...
extortion
Extortion
Extortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
and assassination
Assassination
To carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
. Mieremet's former lawyer Evert Hingst
Evert Hingst
Evert Constantijn Hingst was a Dutch lawyer. He was murdered in Amsterdam, one day before he would talk to various media about the various investigations the Dutch Department of Justice was conducting after him....
was gunned down on Monday October 31, 2005. His murder was one of several in a string of three related underworld liquidations during late October and early November 2005 and one in a longer series of liquidations that has started in 2000.
Born in Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, Mieremet was murdered while conducting business in Pattaya
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi....
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
at around 10:00 a.m. local time. He had survived several earlier assassination attempts; one in 2002, and another on February 26, 2005, when he was shot in the leg and stomach by two perpetrators on a motorcycle.
Background
The 44-year old Mieremet was widely feared in the Amsterdam underground. He was considered to be a regular business partner of Sam Klepper who was himself assassinated in October 2000. The duo was known as Spic and SpanSpic and Span
Spic and Span is a major U.S. brand of all-purpose household cleaner, invented by housewives Elizabeth "Bet" MacDonald and Naomi Stenglein in Saginaw, Michigan, in 1933. The women experimented until they came up with a formula that included equal parts of ground-up glue, sodium carbonate, and...
due to the supposedly efficient, effective and undetectable manner in which they got rid of their opponents. No criminal investigation directed at Mieremet was currently being conducted. Just as Klepper he seemed to be invincible to the authorities' efforts. Another famous partner of the duo was Klaas Bruinsma
Klaas Bruinsma (drug lord)
Klaas Bruinsma was a major Dutch drug lord, shot to death by mafia member and former police officer Martin Hoogland...
.
"Let them get rid of each other. Great." This was Mieremet's reaction when he heard about the murder of Evert Hingst
Evert Hingst
Evert Constantijn Hingst was a Dutch lawyer. He was murdered in Amsterdam, one day before he would talk to various media about the various investigations the Dutch Department of Justice was conducting after him....
. Just a few days before his own demise, on the evening of Hingst's murder Mieremet gave a telephone interview to crime reporter John van den Heuvel for his new television programme. "They all know too much about each other and now they are messing around amongst themselves. They don't trust each other anymore, fun huh?".
"This actually makes me happy. I know that I survived Evert. That's one thing that's sure. He belonged between the garbage where he was lying on Monday evening."
The obviously gleeful statements probably relates to the fact that Mieremet accused Hingst of being involved in the nearly-successful assassination attempt on his life in Amsterdam. In 2002, while leaving Hingst's office, who at the time was one of his lawyers, Mieremet was targeted by a gunman and was seriously wounded. After his recovery he openly talked about the connections between the real-estate business and the underworld in an interview given to the Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf
De Telegraaf is the largest Dutch daily morning newspaper, with a daily circulation of approximately . De Telegraaf is based in Amsterdam...
. He named Willem Endstra
Willem Endstra
Willem Alexander Arnold Peter Minne Endstra was a Dutch real estate trader.Endstra started his own business, Convoy Vastgoed BV, in 1987 after having worked in his parents' real estate business and studying law at the Vrije Universiteit.In 1992 Endstra was investigated for allegedly using his...
, who himself was assassinated in 2004, as the 'underworld banker'. He suspected Endstra to be one of the instigators of the attempt on his life.
Murder
When he was killed, Mieremet was busy working on a real estate project in Pattaya. The tourist resort is growing fast and is therefore highly popular among project developers. Mieremet arrived there about one year before his death. Officially he lived in the BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
town of Neerpelt
Neerpelt
Neerpelt is a municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. On January 1, 2006 Neerpelt had a total population of 16,117. The total area is 42.78 km² which gives a population density of 377 inhabitants per km².-Famous inhabitants:...
.
According to local Thai media, Mieremet was shot at 10:00 a.m. in his office in Pattaya
Pattaya
Pattaya is a city in Thailand, located on the east coast of the Gulf of Thailand, about 165 km southeast of Bangkok located within but not part of Amphoe Bang Lamung in the province of Chonburi....
, a beach resort in Chonburi Province
Chonburi Province
Chonburi is a province of Thailand. Neighboring provinces are Chachoengsao, Chanthaburi and Rayong. To the west is the Gulf of Thailand. The eastern seaboard is heavily industrialized and underpinned by shipping, transportation, tourism, and manufacturing industries, and second to only Bangkok...
. A Pattaya People journalist stated that the gunman arrived on the back of a moped and walked into Mieremet's office. Inside the two spoke, possibly in Dutch. At that time the gunman pulled his gun and shot Mieremet in the head. The shooter was described as a 'rather large man wearing a helmet'. The shooter kept on firing while retreating from the office. After the murder he slowly walked outside, stepped on his moped and disappeared. The significant height of the murderer has led to a suggestion that the murderer was not Thai. Interestingly, Mieremet's bodyguard managed to duck for cover just in time, avoiding being shot at all.
There is no exact cause for the assassination that is easy to pinpoint. One of the many theories is that of a conflict between Dutch and Yugoslav criminals about a shipment of drugs. This has supposedly led to a string of liquidations in past years. It seems unlikely, however that this one single incident has led to such a long streak of liquidations. It is more likely that it has been caused by a series of lesser incidents.