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United Arab Emirates authorities have arrested the oldest son of Dutch drug kingpin Ridouan Taghi, with the Netherlands asking for his extradition, Dutch prosecutors said on Monday.
“Authorities in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) confirmed to the Dutch Public Prosecution Service on Monday that 22-year-old Faissal T. had been arrested in Dubai,” prosecutors said.
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“This arrest was made at the Dutch request,” they added.
Faissal Taghi is the oldest son of Moroccan-born Ridouan Taghi, 45, the Dutch public broadcaster said.
Ridouan Taghi and his alleged accomplices are currently facing charges including murder in an alleged campaign of assassinations that prosecutors called a “well-oiled killing machine.”
He is the alleged mastermind of an Amsterdam-based group, seen as one of the country’s largest cocaine distributors. He was arrested in Dubai in 2019 and extradited to the Netherlands shortly afterwards.
Faissal Taghi is wanted on suspicion of being part of a criminal drug smuggling gang, also involved in money laundering and preparing to commit violent crimes, prosecutors said.
They did not give further information.
“The suspect has been in custody since his arrest,” prosecutors said, adding they had “full confidence in the further course of the extradition procedure.”
Once the Netherlands’ most-wanted man, Ridouan Taghi went on trial in March 2021 at a heavily fortified courthouse on the outskirts of Amsterdam, often referred to as “The Bunker.”
Prosecutors say that Taghi and his accomplices were involved in at least six assassinations, four attempted murders and plotting six other killings.
They called for life sentences against Taghi and five others and lesser jail terms for the other defendants.
Taghi’s lawyers have argued there is not enough evidence to link him to the crimes and have called for his release.
The so-called “Marengo trial” is unprecedented in the Netherlands and has raised fears that the liberal European country could become a so-called narco-state.
Three people linked to a key prosecution witness in the trial, Nabil B., have already been killed in scenes that shocked the Netherlands.
This included Nabil B’s brother, his lawyer Derk Wiersum and the country’s best-known crime reporter Peter R. de Vries, who acted as his adviser.
Read more:
Dutch used Pegasus spyware on most-wanted criminal: Report
Noted Dutch crime reporter De Vries dies after being shot in street
Dubai arrests Dutch ‘most wanted’ crime lord
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