WILLEMSTAD, SCHIPHOL – Raily Bart, a 39-year-old man from Curaçao, was flown to the Netherlands under tight security aboard a Dutch Justice Department private jet. Upon arrival, he was brought to court for an initial hearing. Authorities conducted a high-security operation at Schiphol-Oost, with support from the Special Intervention Service (Dienst Speciale Interventies) and a helicopter escort. 

Bart, already imprisoned in Curaçao for a double murder at Hato Airport involving cousins Erwin Juliana and Shantle Arnhem, is now suspected of playing a coordinating role in the 2021 assassination of Dutch investigative journalist Peter R. de Vries. 

Crucial Breakthrough Through Cracked Phones 

According to Dutch authorities, the link to Bart was discovered after investigators cracked encrypted phones belonging to several individuals already convicted in the De Vries case. That breakthrough revealed Bart’s communication with Divainy K., who is currently serving a sentence in the Netherlands for his involvement in the murder. 

From inside prison, Bart is believed to have helped Divainy K. recruit three other men from Curaçao to carry out the killing. Those men — Ludgardo S., Gerower M., and Erickson O. — have all been sentenced in connection to the case. 

With Bart now identified as a key suspect, this brings the total number of Curaçao-born individuals convicted or suspected in the high-profile assassination to five: Divainy K., Ludgardo S., Gerower M., Erickson O., and now Raily Bart. 

Ties to Other High-Profile Crimes 

One of the suspects, Ludgardo S., is the brother of Lucho S., who infamously shot and killed Gaby, a man attending the funeral of rapper Boechi in Tilburg, the Netherlands. 

The shooter who carried out the assassination of Peter R. de Vries is identified as Delano Geerman, of Aruban origin. Several other accomplices, reportedly of Polish nationality, have also been convicted. 

The arrest and transfer of Raily Bart mark a significant development in the ongoing investigation, which has shaken the Netherlands and drawn international attention. Authorities have described the operation as part of an intensifying crackdown on transnational organized crime networks linked to the Dutch Caribbean.