Patrick van der Eem

Patrick Paul van der Eem (born 1973 in Curaçao) is a Dutch Antillean and convicted drug dealer known for his part in the undercover television report about Joran van der Sloot that was produced by Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries. The program set a Dutch television viewing record and renewed attention in the ongoing investigation of the 2005 disappearance of American student Natalee Holloway in Aruba.

Background Patrick van der Eem is the son of Leon van der Eem, a former operator of nine McDonald's franchises. The younger van der Eem was convicted twice on drug charges and has been blocked from entering the United States because of his criminal record. According to van der Eem in 2008, he had only received traffic tickets since his last drug offense in 1995. In 2003, van der Eem opened a Pirtek franchise which repairs hydraulic hoses. A company spokesperson stated that van der Eem's 7-person organization is the best operated in the Benelux region.

Van der Eem has a visible scar on his left cheek which he says is a "boca grande" inflicted on him by criminals in retaliation for being an informant. However, he had told his CEO Martin Melkert that the scar was the result of a car accident.

Joran van der Sloot undercover video

On February 3, 2008, SBS6 aired a program produced by de Vries in which one time Dutch suspect Joran van der Sloot discusses his knowledge of the Natalee Holloway case with van der Eem while riding in a car which contained hidden cameras. Van der Sloot is seen in the tape smoking marijuana. Van der Eem later said that he regularly used cocaine in front of van der Sloot over a seven-month period to retain his trust.

In an exclusive interview with ABC News, van der Eem said that he first met van der Sloot in a Dutch casino in Nijmegen. Without introduction, he said, "Hey murderer!" in Papiamento, the language of Aruba, to gain van der Sloot's attention. Van der Eem said that he was "totally convinced Joran is telling the truth" in the recordings. Van der Eem said that ABC paid US$830,000 to secure the rights to broadcast the program in the United States. However, the evidence was deemed insufficient to warrant re-arrest. Although the taped confession appeared damning, van der Sloot argued that he was lying to impress van der Eem, who he believed to be a drug dealer.

When you can do something which others can't, the FBI, the CIA, the police... Everyone was looking and Patrick finds. Then you feel yourself to be a tough guy.|Patrick van der Eem He claimed to be under the influence of drugs at the time and was sentenced to 30 hours of community service.

Book

Van der Eem collaborated with author Elizabeth E. Byars to write Overboord: hoe ik Joran van der Sloot aan het praten kreeg (Overboard: how I got Joran van der Sloot to talk), an autobiographical non-fiction book that was first published in Dutch on June 25, 2008, by TM, an imprint of FMB uitgevers. The book became a best seller in the Netherlands and was later published in English as an eBook under the title Disposed: One Man's Journey to Uncover the Truth. De Vries wrote the introduction to the book in which Van der Eem covers his past as a drug addict and dealer and recounts his experience with van der Sloot with transcripts of the undercover video.

Joran is telling the truth about what happened to Natalee... she died in his arms on the beach that night.|Patrick van der Eem

In June 2011, van der Eem was arrested during a traffic police check on the A12 highway in the Netherlands.

In the 2009 American television show ‘Homeland Security USA’ S01E05, van der Eem is featured where he is refused entry into the US because of his criminal past.

2013 Sentencing On May 3, 2013, van der Eem was sentenced by the Arnhem District Court to serve twelve months in prison. The reason for his punishment was his co-perpetration in a ram-raiding in Oosterbeek stealing ski clothing with a value of approximately €30,000 as well as handling stolen goods by using a stolen Volkswagen Caddy for a covert transport of the clothes.