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Dutch Moroccan mafia boss Ridouan Taghi was sentenced on Tuesday to life by an Amsterdam court in what is known to the public as the Marengo trial. Taghi’s right-hand man Said Razzouki and fellow mocro mafia member Mario R. also received a life sentence, Dutch national broadcaster NOS reported.
The ruling was announced today following a six-year trial for six murders committed between 2015 and 2017, four attempted murders, and many more planned liquidations. In addition to Taghi, the main suspect, seventeen other suspects were also convicted in the Marengo trial.
The court ruled that Taghi was the «undisputed leader» of a criminal organization, using «extreme violence to frighten people», and the «terror exerted by him» was effective. The judge warned that if released again, Taghi is likely to carry out murders again. «To retaliate and protect society, only a life sentence is appropriate», the judge argued.
The man behind the 2017 Café la Crème shooting in Marrakech
The trial saw the handing of a 29-year-long sentence for Achraf B., with Mohamed R. getting 27 years and Mao R. 15 years. Key witness Nabil B. was handed a 10-year sentence, as a significant reduction for his statements on his co-suspects, NOS added.
The sentences for the remaining suspects range from approximately two years to 23 years in prison. These sentences are all lower than the Public Prosecution Service had demanded, partly because the trial «took too long», according to the judge.
Since the start of the Marengo trial, three more murders were committed. It is believed that these murders were related to the witness Nabil B. After he was announced as a key witness in the trial, his brother and lawyer were shot dead. His confidante was later murdered too.
Although he is believed to be the main suspect in the trial, Dutch authorities couldn’t get hold of Taghi until 2019. Before his arrest, the Moroccan-born criminal had been hiding in Dubai since 2016. In a joint operation, that saw the collaboration of Moroccan, Emirati, and Dutch police, Taghi was arrested in Dubai in December before being extradited to the Netherlands during the same month.
In addition to the murders committed in the Netherlands, Taghi was wanted on an international arrest warrant issued by Amsterdam. He is also suspected of plotting the 2017 Café la Crème shooting in Marrakech. His right-hand man though, Razzouki, was arrested in February 2020 in Colombia. Razzouki, 47, born in Morocco on June 1, 1972, was later extradited to the Netherlands.
For the record, Taghi is expected to appeal today's ruling, Dutch media reported.
