United Arab Emirates police on Monday extradited an alleged drug lord to the Netherlands, which handed him over as the two countries deepen their cooperation in the fight against organized crime.
Dubai Police described Faisal Taghi, 23, as “a major criminal wanted by the Dutch authorities” and said he had an international arrest warrant for his involvement in drug trafficking, money laundering and human trafficking, and for leading the “Angel of Death” crime ring.
#news | Dutch PM praises UAE efforts to extradite wanted criminal Faisal Taghi
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— Dubai Police (@DubaiPoliceHQ) July 29, 2024
Taghi, who is said to be a Dutch national, was arrested in Dubai in September 2023 at the request of the authorities. He is suspected of belonging to a drug trafficking organization, as well as being involved in money laundering and preparing violent crimes, AFP reported at the time, citing Dutch prosecutors.
An Interpol red notice search for Taghi was launched on Monday but produced no results. Dubai police said Dutch Prime Minister Dick Schoof had praised the UAE for cooperating in Taghi’s extradition. The Dutch government had no immediate comment.
Taghi is the son of Moroccan-born Ridouane Taghi, 46. At the time of his arrest, his father and alleged accomplices were being charged with plotting an assassination, according to AFP.
Taghi’s father was one of the Netherlands’ most wanted fugitives until his extradition from Dubai in 2019. He was accused of running one of the Netherlands’ biggest drug cartels and ordering a series of murders, and was sentenced to life in prison in February this year, according to Reuters.
Why it matters: Drug trafficking is a problem for both the UAE and the Netherlands. Last September, the UAE seized more than $1 billion from Captagon in a major drug bust.
“Organized crime continues to have a major influence in the Netherlands,” German public broadcaster Deutsche Welle reported in February following Taghi’s sentencing, citing a Dutch crime syndicate made up of people of Moroccan descent that is said to control much of Europe’s drug trade and has been dubbed the “Mocco Mafia” in Dutch media.
The UAE and the Netherlands signed an extradition treaty and a mutual legal assistance treaty in July 2023.
In a separate drug case involving the two countries, Bosnian-born Edin Gacanin was arrested in Dubai in 2022 at the request of Dutch authorities. He was wanted on suspicion of cocaine trafficking and the Netherlands had requested his extradition. Gacanin was sentenced in absentia to seven years in prison in November after striking a deal, but Dubai authorities released him on bail in January and his whereabouts remain unknown, an April report by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project said.
Gakanin was sanctioned by the US Treasury Department in March last year, with a US government statement describing him as “one of the world’s most prolific drug traffickers.”