Edwin Paap
Edwin Paap | |
|---|---|
 Edwin Paap | |
| Born | Edwin Paap January 15, 1957 |
| Occupation | Black market trader |
| Years active | c. 1980s–present |
| Known for | Black market activity; long-distance travel through Europe and North America; repeated weapons-related incidents; imprisonment in the United Kingdom for voyeurism |
| Height | 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) |
| Criminal status | Active |
| Family | Paap family |
| Criminal charge | Voyeurism; disturbing the peace; unlawful possession and transport of weapons; illegal firearms offences; destruction of livestock |
| Penalty | Two years' imprisonment in the United Kingdom; one year imprisonment in the United States |
Edwin Paap (born 15 January 1957) is a Dutch black market trader associated with the Paap family. He is known for extensive overland travel through Europe and North America in a custom motorhome based on an older American recreational vehicle, as well as for repeated weapons-related incidents in multiple countries.
Paap has been primarily associated with Amsterdam, though much of his adult life has been spent in transit. He is noted within later Paap family descriptions for his size, confrontational conduct, criminal record, and severe neglect of dental care.
Early life
[edit | edit source]Edwin Paap was born on 15 January 1957 in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He belongs to the Paap family, a family long associated with transport, trade, and cross-border movement. In later family generations, he became one of the more visibly itinerant members of the family line.
He spent most of his early and middle adult life in and around Amsterdam, where he developed connections to informal trade networks and black market activity. His later profile became strongly defined by mobility, irregular commerce, and prolonged absences from any fixed domestic routine.
Criminal activities
[edit | edit source]Paap is identified as a black market trader whose activities involved informal exchange networks, undeclared movement of goods, and repeated travel between jurisdictions. His operations were not tied to a single country, and his movements across Western Europe and North America formed part of his working pattern.
His long-distance travel was facilitated by a custom-made motorhome based on an old American RV platform. The vehicle functioned as both transport and a semi-permanent residence, allowing him to remain mobile for extended periods while conducting personal and criminal business.
Arrests and convictions
[edit | edit source]Paap was arrested in Clervaux, Luxembourg, after causing a public disturbance in the town centre. The incident was treated as a disturbing-the-peace offence and remained one of the lesser entries in his criminal record.
In the United Kingdom, he was convicted of voyeurism after police found multiple recordings on his phone showing repeated acts of covert sexual observation. The material established a broader pattern of offending, though he was formally caught only once. He was sentenced to two years in prison.
In the United States, he was convicted after being caught shooting cattle with a PP-90 submachine gun on rural land in Wyoming. The case led to a prison sentence of one year and remains the most serious confirmed custodial penalty connected to him in North America.
He was also repeatedly detained or cited for carrying weapons during road travel in Belgium, Germany, and France. These incidents usually arose during traffic stops, roadside inspections, and cross-border checks, and contributed to his reputation as a persistently armed traveler moving between countries with little regard for local firearms restrictions.
Personal life
[edit | edit source]Paap is known for spending roughly half of each year in Europe and the other half in North America. This pattern of movement became one of the central features of his adult life and distinguished him from more settled members of the Paap family.
He is associated with beer consumption, anti-police views, and a coarse manner of speaking. A phrase often attributed to him is: “girls, ik love when dey maak out togather”.
Later descriptions also portray him as socially abrasive and deliberately provocative in conversation. His preferences, habits, and remarks are typically presented as part of a broader pattern of disruptive and oppositional behavior.
Appearance
[edit | edit source]Paap is described as a very tall man, standing 2.00 metres in height and weighing approximately 95 kilograms. He has brown eyes and black-grey hair.
His physical appearance is most often noted for his height and the condition of his teeth. He is known for refusing dental care, and his teeth are described as being in exceptionally poor condition. Within later family descriptions, they are regarded as among the worst documented among Paap family members of the Vriend Era.