Under the Pressure of Organized Crime, What Are the Dire Consequences Facing the Netherlands?
In a recent report, France Presse Agency revealed violent operations of drug gangs, including murders and supposed plans to escape from a high-security prison, threatening the Dutch and the safety of the princess.
A series of murders linked to the top-security trial of Moroccan major cocaine dealer, Ridouan Taghi, highlighted the violence of the drug mafia known for its control of the cocaine trade in Europe through Antwerp and Rotterdam ports. The dismantling of a huge drug-smuggling network in Dubai, controlling a third of the cocaine trade in Europe passing by the Netherlands, shed light on the power of the drug smugglers intimidating the rule of law.
Ridouan Taghi, who is being held in a top-security prison in the south of the Netherlands after his arrest in 2019 in Dubai, was accused of being the “king” of an organization described by the prosecution as a “killing machine.”
Serious Impact
The top-security trial of Ridouan Taghi, the major cocaine dealer, has recently captivated the Dutch liberal country and highlighted Mocro Maffia (Moroccan Mafia) violence, but the Dubai-based “super cartel” raid that was linked to Taghi has further reinforced fears that the Netherlands could turn into a narco-state. Still worse, Dutch-Moroccan, Ridouan Taghi, could contact his “killing machine” through secret messages to henchmen outside, despite being behind bars in an ultra-secure prison; he was able to kill people and got plans to escape the prison without leaving his cell, and this is terrifying.
“Marengo” trial, in which Taghi was charged with 16 others, is the first for the Netherlands, according to commentators.
“The consequence of the Marengo trial, and the violence that was committed afterward, that has simply caused a huge shock,” Jan Meeus, a Dutch journalist specializing in criminal matters, told AFP.
The journalist described the “Marengo” as “the ultimate test of the Dutch judicial system of the rule of law.”
Observers reported that Mocro Maffia violence revealed the Dutch authorities’ naivety about the increase in organized crime that is based on a parallel economy worth several billion dollars.
Jan Struijs, head of the country’s main police union NPB, told AFP that the Netherlands’ lenient policy on soft drugs was to blame, as he has sounded the alarm for years, stressing that the country is seriously threatened to turn into “a narco-state.”
Three people linked to a key prosecution witness in the trial were killed; Taghi’s brother was assassinated in 2018 in scenes that shocked the Netherlands. His lawyer was killed in 2019 in front of his house, and the well-known journalist Peter R. de Vries was shot in the head in July 2021 in the center of Amsterdam after leaving a television studio. De Vries was included in the hit-list of Ridouan Taghi.
The army is unprecedentedly guarding the “Bunker” in Amsterdam, where Taghi is on trial, and judges and prosecutors arrive for hearings in armored cars after revealing plans to spring Taghi from prison and the serious acts of violence that could happen.
A spokesman for the national prosecutor’s office told AFP that “the democratic rule of law is shaken and under pressure from organized crime.”
Threats reached Crown Princess Amalia, the daughter of King Willem-Alexander, who was forced to give up plans to live in student accommodation for security reasons.
“Both the 19-year-old royal and Prime Minister Mark Rutte were mentioned in messages by organized crime groups, raising fears of plans to kidnap or attack them,” according to France24.
The Victims Were ‘Dogs’
The mafia members in the Netherlands show no respect for human life, calling their victims “dogs” who must “sleep.”
The gang is called “Mocro Maffia” as it includes many Moroccan criminals; it is famous for both “the youth and the merciless violence of its members,” according to AFP.
The mafia kingpins may also be moving outside the Netherlands as a Taghi-linked Dutch boss arrested in the Gulf emirate had relations with the Italian and Irish drug gangs.
The spokesman of Europol, Jan Op Gen Oorth, told AFP that “fluid and creative” networks now collaborate and have their “kingpins sitting outside of the EU jurisdiction.”
“It’s not one group against the other anymore, which makes it extremely dangerous.”
For 11 years, it was not weird seeing Dutch PM Mark Rutte on the streets of The Hague, joyfully riding his bicycle to his office, without any visible security presence.
However, in October 2021, the Dutch police’s approach changed, and the PM was highly protected. There was no official justification for the new measures taken, but officials privately said that Rutte should be protected as drug gangs were planning to kidnap him.
The intensification of violence and the increasing influence of powerful drug gangs in the Netherlands during the last two years came quickly and shocked Dutch society.
It was also reported that these gangs are linked to Peter’s murder, in addition to their connection with a long list of brutal murders in recent years. The hit-list also included Gwenette Girigorie Martha, one of the crime lords, who was shot in 2014 and killed with 80 bullets.
In addition to the murder crimes, there are other horrific atrocities attributed to the gangs in the Netherlands. For example, in 2020, police discovered a secret torture cubby near the Dutch border with Belgium, built inside an old shipping container.
Footage of the torture of members of a Belgian gang called The Turtles with soldering iron was broadcast on the Internet.
Hence, the attacks are no longer limited to members of rival gangs but have gone beyond the boundaries of the criminal world to target prosecutors, lawyers, witnesses, and journalists, especially since the offices of a major newspaper were targeted by an anti-tank missile in 2018.
A New Generation
Increasingly, the Dutch authorities feel that they have been outsmarted by gangs. A 2019 report commissioned by the Amsterdam authorities warned that the city had unleashed a diverse array of drug criminals, gangs made up of crooks, blackmailers, and estate agents.
Fred Westerbeke, chief police commissioner in Rotterdam, revealed that the results of research conducted on sewage showed that 40,000 lines of cocaine were inhaled daily in each of the two cities.
Police unions admit they are being beaten down by gangs who launder money through shops, restaurants, and a booming real estate market. Likewise, Jan Struijs, a member of the Dutch Police Union (NPB), explained that criminals communicate surreptitiously with police officers. Therefore, the police today need training in how to deal with this situation.
In general, why were these violent gangs able to control the Netherlands in this way? Perhaps the reason for this is that the country is the gateway to Europe, as it is the largest logistics center on the continent, according to Hans Nelen, professor of criminology at Maastricht University and head of the Information and Research Center on Organized Crime.
The Dutch have always been merchants throughout history, and that goes back to the golden age, even during the time of the slave trade, they have the logistics thanks to the port of Rotterdam and Schiphol Airport; the Dutch are always willing to make money, according to the professor. He added additional factors, such as the presence of the EU’s open borders, and financial incentives that attract illegal investment.
Professor Nelen considers that a new generation of younger, tougher gangsters has emerged in the past decade.
When they start shooting at people in the street, you realize they want to send a message to the authorities and to society as a whole that they are somewhat untouchable, according to him.
