Amsterdam’s ‘well-oiled killing machine’ leader gets life term

Ridouan Taghi, the leader of a drugs cartel, has been sentenced to life in jail for his part in a murderous campaign in the Netherlands, which prosecutors called a “well-oiled killing machine”.

Moroccan-born Taghi, 46, was described in court as the mastermind of the Amsterdam-based group, and one of Europe’s most-wanted men when he was captured in Dubai in 2019.

During his trial, Taghi and 16 alleged members of a drugs cartel faced six counts of murder and attempted murders – including ordering at least 13 hits – between 2015 and 2017, against people suspected of becoming police informants.

“We are sentencing all the suspects. Ridouan Taghi gets life in prison,” said a judge at the Amsterdam District Court, who, for reasons of security, asked not to be identified.

Sixteen others received sentences ranging from life to one year and nine months in prison.

The verdict was read out at the highly-secure courthouse, commonly known as The Bunker, on the outskirts of Amsterdam.

Officers armed with automatic rifles were guarding the building, while drones and a police helicopter circled overhead.

An international arrest warrant had been issued for Taghi in 2018 and officials offered a €100,000 ($118,200) reward for his capture.

A breakthrough occurred when Dubai Police launched a cross-border operation, prompted by officials receiving a tip-off that he was in the Middle East. It led to a 10-day stakeout at the luxury villa hideout of the crime lord.

The cartel, nicknamed the “Mocro-Mafia” because its members are mainly of Moroccan and Antillean origin, is regarded as one of the Netherlands’ largest cocaine distributors.

Their crimes include the murder of a man called Hakim Changachi, who was killed in Utrecht in 2017 in what prosecutors said was a case of mistaken identity.

Taghi had denied all the charges and said money spent on a “sham trial could rather have gone to employing more teachers and police, and health care”, Het Parool newspaper reported.

“It’s been a six-year process and so much has happened, none of it pleasant,” Dutch criminal law advocate Willem Jan Ausma told Dutch breakfast TV programme