Nottinghamshire crime boss Robert Dawes jailed for 'masterminding' doorstep shooting of Dutch teacher

A Nottinghamshire drugs kingpin has been sentenced for ordering the brutal murder of a Dutch teacher more than 20 years ago. Gerard Meesters, 52, was shot dead in the hallway of his home in Groningen, the Netherlands on November 28, 2002.

Prosecutors in the Netherlands said Daniel Sowerby, who was jailed for life in 2006 for shooting Mr Meesters, had done so on the orders of Sutton-in-Ashfield drug lord Robert Dawes. Dawes has been serving a 22-year jail term he was given in 2018 for trafficking more than a tonne of cocaine from Venezuela to France, and was further sentenced to a life imprisonment by a Dutch court for his involvement in Mr Meesters' murder on Friday, January 10.

The Public Prosecution Service (OM) North Netherlands said Dawes had been the "intellectual mastermind" behind the brutal murder. They added the "ruthless criminal" had targeted the innocent father after sending gang members to his home days before.

Five of Dawes' associates ordered Mr Meesters to call a Spanish number and share the whereabouts of his sister, but he did not know the location of his sibling. The school worker went to the police, believing the threats related to his sister possibly hiding money or drugs, and was shot eight times a few days later.

The OM said the killing was "meant to terrify", as the 52-year-old had no links to Dawes' gang and was killed solely to instill fear in others. While an initial investigation into who ordered the murder resulted in nothing, the case was reopened in 2017 at the urging of Mr Meesters' children and through the work of a Dutch journalist.

Dawes, who denied organising the murder after being charged in 2021, was found guilty after a trial in Amsterdam in November. Prior to his sentencing the OM said: "Although the suspect has not previously been convicted of murder, the OM deems life imprisonment fitting, partly because the suspect has lived his entire life as a ruthless criminal, amassing significant wealth.

"Since 2002, Gerard Meesters’ relatives have been trapped in a horrific ordeal. They have witnessed how their completely innocent father was murdered by a criminal organization."