Drug lord linked to Dutch royal plot on run

ONE of Europe’s most wanted criminals who is linked to a plot to kill a Dutch princess is on the run after a Spanish court allowed him to walk free.

Karim Bouyakhrichan, a leader of one of the Netherlands’ “Mocro Mafia” cartels, was arrested after a major money laundering operation in Marbella in January but skipped bail after being accidentally released. His arrest three months ago was a huge relief to the Dutch royal family and Princess Amalia, who fled the Netherlands in 2022 amid fears she was a kidnapping or assassination target for drug gangs.

Félix Bolaños, the Spanish justice minister, told reporters his release and failure to attend court was “worrying”. He said authorities “will hand this person over to justice as soon as possible”.

The 20-year-old princess returned to the Netherlands, it was reported last week, after living in hiding in Madrid for at least a year. Before moving to the capital she was under close protection in the royal palace in the Hague.

Intercepted communications between members of Dutch/moroccan gangs mentioned her name, and Mark Rutte, the prime minister, forcing her to ditch plans to live in student accommodation in Amsterdam while studying for her degree.

The threat had not disappeared, but the princess was able to live and study in the Netherlands again thanks to unspecified “measures”, royal sources told state broadcaster NOS earlier this month.

After Bouyakhrichan’s arrest over the purchase of 172 Spanish properties worth £42.9million, Dutch authorities filed an extradition request with Spain for the 46-year-old drug lord. Nicknamed

“Taxi”, he has been hunted by Interpol for five years. He is suspected of leading a cocaine-smuggling operation that stretches across Europe and involvement in a bloody turf war that has led to deaths in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Morocco.

The extradition request was rejected by a Spanish court, which said Bouyakhrichan should first face the money laundering charges in Spain. The Dutch successfully appealed the decision and extradition was granted. Spain’s National Court failed to issue an order that would have kept the kingpin in custody until his extradition.

At a preliminary hearing into the money laundering charges at a Malaga court last month, the judge agreed to release Bouyakhrichan on €50,000 bail. The gang boss paid the bail and was ordered to report to the court in April. He has not been seen since.