Freddy Heineken and his driver Ab Doderer were kidnapped in 1983 and released on payment of a ransom of 35 million Dutch guilders (around 15,800,000 euros or 17,332,600 US dollars).

The kidnappers – Cor van Hout, Willem Holleeder, Jan Boellaard, Frans Meijer, and Martin Erkamps – were eventually caught and served prison terms.

Meijer escaped and lived in Paraguay for years, until he was discovered by crime reporter Peter R. de Vries and imprisoned there.

In 2003, Meijer stopped resisting his extradition to the Netherlands and was transferred to a Dutch prison to serve the last part of his term.

He died from pneumonia on 3 January 2002 at the age of 78 at his home in Noordwijk in the presence of his immediate family, including his daughter Charlene de Carvalho-Heineken, who inherited his fortune.