Police in Rotterdam have arrested a 45-year-old woman as part of an investigation into an alleged attempt to hire a hitman through the dark web.
Police said the woman is suspected of “involvement” in the attempt to arrange a contract killing. Authorities have not said whether she personally placed the order.
The woman, who has no registered address, was arrested on Friday.
The investigation began after RTL Nieuws looked into a website that claimed to arrange contract killings. The website later turned out to be a scam. The Rotterdam case was reportedly one of seven murder orders placed through the site.
According to RTL Nieuws, the intended victim was a businessman from Rotterdam. The man had gone through a difficult divorce and believes his former in-laws may have been behind the alleged plot.
“I am incredibly relieved that the police have identified a suspect,” he told RTL Nieuws. “I lived in uncertainty for a year. I was constantly looking over my shoulder.”
RTL Nieuws obtained messages allegedly sent by the person who ordered the killing.
“I want you to burn him alive and make sure he doesn’t survive it.”
After being told that this would cost $9,000, the person reportedly asked: “How much will it cost to chop off his arms and legs? Or how much would it cost to shoot him?”
The person also reportedly provided a recent photo of the businessman and his home address.
“Keep in mind that the house might have an alarm system and that his mother, who is over 70, lives with him. The only requirement is that he must be dead; I don’t care what you do to the mother.”
According to RTL Nieuws, nearly $1,400 worth of Bitcoin was eventually transferred for the planned killing.
The murder never happened because the website offering the hitman service was a scam.
However, attempting to arrange a murder can still lead to criminal charges even when the killing does not happen.
