Overview
- Anniversary coverage features Pastor Christian Arndt recalling how he helped carry cash to free Jan Philipp Reemtsma after 33 days in captivity.
- Under a media blackout agreed by family, police and press, Arndt and sociologist Lars Clausen served as money couriers, with Michael Herrmann securing the car.
- The kidnappers guided the couriers by phone across northern Germany to the Krefeld area, where the car loaded with Deutsche Mark and Swiss francs was left.
- After his release, Reemtsma gave precise details that led police to the Garlstedt cellar, which enabled arrests of accomplices and later the conviction of ringleader Thomas Drach.
- Most of the 30 million D‑Mark ransom remains missing, and Drach is now in preventive detention following a 15‑year sentence issued in Cologne in 2024.