The son of Gerard Meesters, who was gunned down on his doorstep in 2002, tells Robert Dawes: ‘Today I hope justice wins, that you will never be able to decide on anybody’s life again like you did to my father’
A British crime lord known as “The One” could be jailed for life after going on trial in Holland accused of ordering a hit on an innocent teacher 22 years ago.
Gerard Meesters, 52, was shot eight times on the doorstep of his home in the Netherlands by an English gunman hunting his estranged sister. Nottinghamshire-born Dawes is on trial in the country accused of masterminding the murder because he suspected Mr Meesters’ sibling had stolen drugs from him.
The victim’s son, Koen, told Dawes during a hearing in a high security court near Schiphol airport this week: “This is the day I look at the man I hold responsible for my daily suffering, a man who never thinks of the suffering he has caused, only has derogatory comments on the evidence, and plays to be innocence itself. You see yourself as the centre of attention, as if your life is the only one that matters. But today I hope justice wins, that you will never be able to decide on anybody’s life again like you did to my father.”
Mr Meester’s daughter, Annemarie, said Dawes was a “danger to society” and should never be released, telling the court that he was “the real perpetrator in these crimes”. Dawes, 52, described as “one of the most significant organised criminals in Europe”, was jailed for 22 years in France for a £216 million cocaine haul. He denies any involvement in the murder. “I am terribly sorry for what happened to you”, he told the court in response to the victim impact statements. Dawes added: “I did not order this job, I am not responsible for this, I have no motive for it.”
Former Dawes foot soldier Daniel Sowerby was jailed for life in the Netherlands in 2006 for shooting Mr Meesters. The current investigation began in 2018 after Mr Meester’s children visited their father’s killer in prison. Much of the evidence is based on recordings of Dawes’ associates, the court has heard. Dutch prosecutors have called for a life sentence to be handed down “partly because the suspect has lived his entire life as a ruthless criminal, amassing significant wealth”.
A few days before the murder, Sowerby visited Mr Meesters’ home in Groningen, a city in the northern Netherlands, with notorious Dutch gangster Gwenette Martha, who was later shot dead. When Mr Meesters failed to tell them where his sister was, Sowerby returned and killed him. The sister, who was tracked down by police weeks after the murder, said she had no knowledge of the alleged drugs theft, the court heard.
Prosecutors said fear of Dawes was the “thread” that ran through the case and called for him to be jailed for life, describing the kingpin as “the brains behind this liquidation”. The verdict and potential sentence will be handed down at a later date.
From his days as a young criminal on a Nottingham council estate, Dawes became one of Europe’s Top 10 most wanted gangsters. He got his first conviction in 1983, aged 11, and went on to collect 16 more, for robbery, drugs, assault and having an offensive weapon.
A retired Nottinghamshire detective who investigated the Dawes cartel told the Mirror in 2018: “They were juvenile criminals who got into drugs and began to take control. Rob was the main man. He had the skills to make the organisation a formidable force and was also a proper thug.”
He relocated to the Costa del Sol in 2001 to escape Nottinghamshire Police. Dawes bought a £1million villa in Benalmadena but still dressed in tracksuit and trainers. His aliases included Trackie, Franky, The Derbyman and The One. He was also known as “The Voice” on an encrypted phone network he set up to stay one step ahead of the police. Dawes escaped justice for decades by using violence, bent officials and sophisticated anti-surveillance techniques.
Moving around legal jurisdictions, the married grandfather had associates in more than 50 countries, including Afghanistan, China, Italy, Nigeria, Colombia and New Zealand. In 2005, Dawes’ brother John was jailed for 24 years. Ledgers revealed at least £8.5million was sent to “Franky” in Spain. By 2007 Robert Dawes was flitting between Spain and Dubai, where he laundered cash, built a £10million property portfolio and spent time with his Chinese mistress.
Spanish police eventually charged him but the case collapsed in 2012. Dawes began organising yet larger shipments of cocaine and heroin – working in thousands of kilos rather than hundreds. In 2013 French authorities seized a record 1.3 tons of cocaine in suitcases of 31 “ghost” passengers. Those arrested all had Dawes’ trademark encrypted phones. He was nicked later after being taped boasting: “You know the big one in Paris in all the luggage… that was mine.”
After Dawes’ sentencing in 2018, then National Crime Agency deputy director Matt Horne said: “Dawes was one of the most significant organised criminals in Europe with a network that literally spanned the globe. Dawes was prepared to use extreme levels of violence in order to further his reputation and take retribution against those who crossed him. Members or associates of his criminal group are known to have been involved in intimidation, shootings and murders.”
