Woman arrested after trying to hire hitman on dark web scam site

A woman has been arrested for allegedly trying to recruit a hitman on the dark web to kill her ex-husband.

Police confirmed that the 45-year-old woman was arrested in Rotterdam at the weekend for being “involved” in organising a contract killing after the case came to light during an investigation by RTL Nieuws.

The website turned out to be a scam that advertised non-existent “contract killing” services and the attack was never carried out, despite the client transferring US$1,400 (€1,200) in bitcoins as a downpayment.

The man, who was given the cover name of Jerom by RTL, told the broadcaster he was “incredibly relieved that the police have identified a suspect”

The client instructed the website “burn him alive and make sure he doesn’t survive.” When told that the attack would cost $9,000, they replied: “OK, how much does it cost to cut off his arms and legs or shoot him?”

Elderly mother

The instructions included Jerom’s home address, a recent photograph and information about the house, including the alarm system and the fact that his elderly mother lived with him.

“The only demand is that he has to die. I don’t care what happens to the mother,” the client wrote.

Police said arranging the killing was still a crime even though the hitman did not exist. They did not confirm if the request had come directly from the businessman’s ex-wife.

In 2021 a man from The Hague was given an eight-year jail sentence for trying to arrange a murder on the same website. A judge said he had acted “coldly and clinically” in instructing the killing and could take no credit for the fact that the victim was still alive.