Dutch-Moroccan Ridouan Taghi has been hiding in Dubai since December 2016, his lawyer says

Currently held at the Nieuw Vosseveld prison in the Netherlands for suspected involvement in at least ten murders related to organized crime, Moroccan-born Ridouan Taghi has been hiding in Dubai since 2016, his lawyer said.

According to a communiqué released by Inez Weski and quoted by Dutch newspaper Het Parool, Tuesday, Taghi first came to Dubai, where he was arrested in December 2019, on 25 December 2016.

In her statement, Weski rejected reports that suggested her client was «staying in Iran», adding that they are «misleading». Moreover, she reported that Taghi was not questioned in Dubai after his arrest.

According to the same source, Taghi will attend the first hearing of his trial on February 27, which will be held in a heavily secured courtroom in Schipol.

For the record, Taghi, dubbed the Netherlands’ most wanted man, was extradited on December 18, 2019, to Amsterdam.

Taghi, who is also known as one of the leading figures of Dutch criminal network Mocro mafia (Moroccan mafia), was wanted on an international arrest warrant issued by Amsterdam. He is also suspected of plotting the 2017 Café la Crème shooting in Marrakech.

In the Netherlands, Taghi will be heard for his direct involvement in the death of five people in the Netherlands. Sixteen other suspects are being prosecuted for the same cases, including his henchman Said Razzouki, who is still at large.