Written by Rachel Ducept
Translated by Lucas Décorne,
Proofread by Arthur Puybertier and Rachel Ducept.
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Published on November, 6th, 2022.
The Netherlands is well-known for its therapeutic and recreational plants, but much less for the mafia which operates there, and takes advantage of the flexible legislation to establish Europe’s largest drug trade.
On October 18, the Dutch royal couple declared that the Crown Princess of the Netherlands, Amalia d’Orange-Nassau, would no longer leave the Huis ten Bosch Palace to study at the University of Amsterdam. Threats were made to kidnap or assassinate the Princess and the Prime Minister. The Dutch authorities took them seriously, as they considered the Princess’s usual means of transport to be insufficiently protected, even though it was an armored car escorted by agents of the Royal and Diplomatic Protection Service.
Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, known as an “ordinary leader”, had to give up his life as an average citizen to be placed under police surveillance.
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Who is behind this cartel?
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The criminal group of Moroccan origin, called the “Mocro Maffia”, is in charge of this international traffic. This organization appeared in the 1990s, and over the years has expanded to the Netherlands and then to Belgium. Its activity began with cannabis resin, then diversified into the cocaine business. The Mocro Maffia built relationships with Colombian and Mexican drug traffickers and shipped tons of cocaine through the harbours of Antwerp and Rotterdam, Europe’s largest ports. As seizures increase, Europol calls Belgium and the Netherlands “major hubs for cocaine trafficking to Europe”.
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Ridouan Taghi: the head of this cocaine empire
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He is the son of Moroccan immigrants; he was arrested in Dubai in 2019 and suspected of ordering the murders of nine people. He allegedly oversaw this trafficking between 2015 and 2017, building up a fortune of over 100 million euros. He is now incarcerated in the Netherlands but continues to pull the strings from his cell. Saïd Razzouki, his main right-hand man, was arrested in Medellin in February 2020.
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Mocro Maffia: Modus Operanti similar to South American drug trafficking groups
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Macro Maffia has become a full-fledged player in cocaine trafficking and has done so since the peace agreement signed in 2016 between the Colombian government and the FARC.
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It uses death threats against political leaders as well as strong messages to create terror around itself and among those in power. A policy of terror that comes close to terrorism according to the Belgian authorities. Its goal: to intimidate the Dutch authorities and journalists in order to obtain the necessary collaborations for their traffic. To do this, there is nothing better than open violence inspired by Mexican drug networks, where it has proven itself. It started with threats, and then moved on to killing journalist Peter R. de Vries in 2021 and lawyer Derk Wiersum before that. One had been the confidant of a witness in the case of Ridouan Taghi and the other was defending him. Both were to be heard at the trial of the leader of Mocro Maffia.
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It was after the death of Peter R. de Vries, a Dutch journalist, that the world realized the power of this organization.
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Lucas Décorne