Suspected crime boss Willem Holleeder (48) may have been poisoned, says his lawyer Jan-Hein Kuijpers in Wednesday’s Telegraaf. ‘His heart valve was leaking on Monday but he seemed fine. That his liver and kidneys have also failed is suspicious,’ according to Kuijpers.

The lawyer told the Telegraaf that he has requested a toxicological investigation following the swift deterioration in his client’s health. He also says that poison could only have been administered in the food served in prison. ‘But the medicine he received also proved nearly fatal,’ says Kuijpers.
According to the lawyer, Holleeder’s family were afraid he would die on Tuesday. His mother and other family members were called to his bedside to say goodbye.
Holleeder, who is on trial on four counts of blackmail, is due for heart surgery on Thursday in the Leiden University medical centre. The trial has been suspended.
Meanwhile, the OM announced on Wednesday that it will not prosecute Willem van Boxtel – known as Big Willem – who was suspected of planning to kill Holleeder. Big Willem was formerly ‘president’ of the Amsterdam Hells Angels.
Holleeder was a frequent visitor to the Angels’ clubhouse where, it was alleged Big Willem planned to blow him up with a bomb. The hit was allegedly ordered by property magnate Willem Endstra, who was himself shot dead in May 2004.