Claudia Melchers (born 6 May 1969, Ruurlo) is the Dutch head of a cooking company called CMC Catering. She is the daughter of Hans Melchers, a wealthy Dutch businessman.
Kidnapping On 12 September 2005, a group of three armed South-American men broke into her home in Amsterdam, tied her, packed her into a plastic crate, and then forced her into a waiting vehicle. The intruders left her two children unharmed. They also bound and gagged a male neighbour present at the time, but her children freed the neighbour shortly before police arrived.The Irish Times 15 September 2005
The abductors took Melchers to a bungalow park in the eastern part of the Netherlands. She was held captive in one of the bungalows. After the case got so much media attention, Melchers was dropped off unharmed at the Arnhem train station within 48 hours. No reason was given for her release, and it is unclear whether a ransom was paid.
The abductors reportedly demanded 660 pounds (300 kilograms) of cocaine.NBC News story of the abduction and release, September 15 2005 After the release of this fact, several Dutch Radio and Television stations speculated that the reason for the kidnapping was an error with a drug deal and that the abductors were in quick need of cocaine. The stations claimed that they got their information from the police. The above-mentioned media also speculated that Melchers' family is involved in the drug scene. Melchers' father - Hans Melchers - denied any of these connections and announced that he was going to sue several newspapers and television programs that launched this rumour.
The kidnapping happened a month after the Dutch authorities' largest drug bust till that date at the Port of Rotterdam (4,500 kilograms of cocaine). A connection between the abductors and the drug bust case was initially speculated though never clearly established.
Lorenzo Moeniralam, one of the abductors of Melchers, was sentenced to eight years in prison in 2007. Later that year his nephew Izaan M. was sentenced to ten years. Three others involved earlier received prison sentences from 2 to 6 years.dutchnews.nl 1 May 2007
See also Other famous kidnappings in the Netherlands are: Freddy Heineken (1983) Gerrit Jan Heijn (1987) Derk Bolt (2017)
Notes
External links CMC Catering homepage