Early last month, the police in Dubai arrested Ridouan Taghi’s eldest son, Faissal, sources told De Telegraaf. Faissal is suspected in the Netherlands, like his father, of participating in a criminal drug trafficking organization and money laundering, among other things. His interrogation brought new suspicions to light against Dutch lawyers, the newspaper reported.
Several intelligence services, including those of Dubai and Morocco, played an important role in the arrest of Faissal Taghi. Employees of those services also interrogated him, which led to new suspicions against several Dutch lawyers, De Telegraaf reports. The Dutch police and the Public Prosecution Service (OM) did not want to comment on the matter to the newspaper.
Two of Ridouan Taghi’s lawyers were previously accused of helping the criminal leader continue his drug trafficking from the maximum-security prison in Vught, where he has been held since his arrest in Dubai in 2019. Youssef T., a relative of Taghi who served as his lawyer, was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison earlier this year for playing a “key role” in Taghi’s criminal organization. In April, police also arrested Taghi’s then-lawyer, Inez Weski, and accused her of helping Taghi communicate with his gang outside prison walls.
The Netherlands signed an extradition treaty with Dubai in 2021, so Faissal will likely be extradited here. As the case against his father and other members of his gang is in its final stages, Faissal will likely be tried separately.
The Dutch police had intensive contact with their colleagues in Dubai in the investigation into Faissal. According to the Telegraaf, the Public Prosecution Service describes the investigation into Faissal Taghi as “internationally very complex”.
Faissal Taghi is linked to Italian mafia boss Raffaele Imperiale, who has become an important witness for the Italian authorities. According to the authorities, Faissal Taghi and Imperiale worked together in a large-scale drug and money smuggling network via Dutch industrial estates.
Imperiale allegedly had trucks with cocaine driven from company warehouses in North Holland to Italy. On the way back, the trucks smuggled millions of euros in cash to the Netherlands to be laundered. The Public Prosecution Service suspects that Faissal Taghi earned at least 5 million euros with this operation.
