A Dutch gangland boss who gained notoriety after the kidnapping of a Heineken beer tycoon in the 1980s has been jailed for life on five counts of murder, one of attempted murder and one of manslaughter after his sisters handed over damning recordings to prosecutors.

Willem Holleeder, nicknamed De Neus over the size of his nose, was accused by the judge of being “unscrupulous and indifferent” to “life and death” at the end of a 17-month trial in a secure Amsterdam courtroom known as the bunker.

There was no forensic evidence of Holleeder’s role orchestrating five murders between 2002 and 2006, including that of his brother-in-law and accomplice in the Heineken kidnapping, Cor van Hout, but taped admissions and testimony from a series of witnesses proved to be enough.

The judge, Frank Wieland, said the sound recordings in which Holleeder had discussed ordering the murders gave the trial “a special dynamic”.

“Finally it succeeded,” Holleeder was heard saying of the murder of Van Hout. “It was him or me,” he added of another of the killings.

Holleeder, 61, who has been described in the recent past as a knuffelcrimineel, or huggable criminal, because of his efforts to court the media, became a household name in 1983 for his role in the abduction of Freddy Heineken and his driver. The story of his criminal enterprise was made into a movie, Kidnapping Freddy Heineken, starring Anthony Hopkins.

The two hostages were released after a ransom of 35m Dutch guilders (about £12.5m today) was paid, of which a quarter was never recovered. Holleeder was caught hiding out in Paris and sentenced in 1987 to 11 years in prison, of which he served five.

Holleeder, described in court earlier in the trial as “the best-known Dutch product after cheese” in criminal circles, was arrested in 2014 over the murder of two men before the charges multiplied.

He had sought to undermine the incriminating witness statements of his former girlfriend Sandra den Hartog and his sisters, Astrid and Sonja, the latter of whom had been married to Van Hout.

He described their evidence as a conspiracy, and falsely accused Astrid of having psychological problems.

Holleeder, in a statement after the sentencing, claimed the “unprecedented media campaign my sisters have conducted against me with the help of journalists” made the judgment unsafe. His lawyers vowed to appeal against the conviction.

Wieland told the court that the verdict had not been swayed by the media coverage and that the women should be believed.

He said: “We have found no substantiation that the statements are coordinated. Their story has proven to be reliable in other areas than the murders. They can be used for proof without hesitation.”

The judge said Holleeder lived in a world of violence and lawlessness. Wieland added: “Fear rules in the world of crime. The leaders are always wary of treachery.”

Holleeder was found guilty of ordering the murder of Van Hout, Sam Klepper, Willem Endstra, Kees Houtman, Thomas van der Bijl and the attempted murder of John Mieremet, who survived but was killed in 2005 in an unsolved murder. Holleeder was found guilty of the manslaughter of boat trader Robert ter Haak, who was shot dead during Van Hout’s assassination.