A notorious Dutch underworld figure was shot dead on the main Amsterdamseweg in Amstelveen on Thursday evening.

Gwenette Martha died at the scene and local eyewitnesses report hearing ‘several salvos’ of gunfire. Others said at least three shooters were involved, dressed in black and wearing black balaclavas to hide their faces.

The attackers drove off in a black BMW, news agency ANP reports. Police turned out in force and a 200 metre stretch of road was sealed off for several hours.

Martha, who was 39, survived an earlier attack on his life last December when the pistol aimed at his head refused to go off.

According to ANP, he was considered a key figure in a number of recent gangland killings, including a double murder in Amsterdam west in 2012.