Ridouan Taghi’s son arrested in Dubai: report

The police in Dubai arrested Ridouan Taghi’s oldest son, Faissal, early last month, sources told De Telegraaf. Like his father, Faissal is suspected in the Netherlands of participation in a drug-trafficking criminal organization and money laundering, among other things. His interrogation revealed new suspicions against Dutch lawyers, according to the newspaper.

Several intelligence services, including those of Dubai and Morocco, played a key role in Faissal Taghi’s arrest. Employees of those services also interrogated him, and that raised new suspicions against several Dutch lawyers, the Telegraaf wrote. The Dutch police and Public Prosecution Service (OM) wouldn’t comment to the newspaper on the matter.

Two of Ridouan Taghi’s legal counsels were previously accused of helping the criminal kingpin continue his drug operations from the high-security prison in Vught, where he has been held since his arrest in Dubai in 2019. Youssef T., a relative of Taghi who acted as his legal counsel, was sentenced to 5.5 years in prison earlier this year for playing a “key role” in Taghi’s criminal organization. In April, the police also arrested Taghi’s then-lawyer, Inez Weski, accusing her of helping Taghi communicate with his gang outside the prison walls.

The Nehterlands concluded an extradition treaty with Dubai in 2021, so Faissal will probably be extradited here. As the case against his father and other members of his gang is in its final stages, Faissal will likely be tried separately.

The Dutch police had intensive contact with their colleagues in Dubai in the investigation into Faissal. According to the Telegraaf, the OM describes the investigation into Faissal Taghi as “very complex internationally.”

Faissal Taghi is linked to the Italian mafia boss Raffaele Imperiale, who has since become a key witness for the Italian authorities. According to the authorities, Faissal Taghi and Imperiale worked together in an extensive smuggling network of drugs and cash through Dutch industrial estates.

Imperiale allegedly had trucks containing cocaine driving from company warehouses in Noord-Holland to Italy. On the way back, the trucks smuggled millions of euros in cash to the Netherlands to be laundered. The OM suspects that Faissal Taghi made at least 5 million euros from this operation.