The man who most likely ordered the murder was Stanley “Kai” Esser. We all know Stanley Hillis by now, but this other Stanley may have been around in the Dutch underworld for just as long.
Kai Esser secretly spoke with the Van Traa committee in the nineties. The IRT affair was televised and was the talk of the town. Esser was one of the very first generations of large hash dealers in the Netherlands. Born in Willemstad on Curacao, Esser grew to be the predecessor of Klaas Bruinsma, with whom he also did business.
Kai Esser has faded into the background over time. He no longer really played a significant role in the current generation of Dutch criminals. In that respect, you could call Kai Esser a 'successful criminal'. He is said to have stashed his hard-earned money in Switzerland and happily emigrated via Belgium to the Caribbean and Mexico. In part, this was also said to have been for self-preservation, because according to a criminal source, he was still in debt to many people.
“Kai” Esser died in the Netherlands on December 1, 2020, at the age of 77.