Home World ‘If you talk, you die’: Chilling rule imposed by Europe’s most feared drug lord Ridouan Taghi to strike fear in to traitors as he’s jailed for life for leading ‘well-oiled murder machine’ gang during Dutch narco war that saw beheadings and revenge killings

‘If you talk, you die’: Chilling rule imposed by Europe’s most feared drug lord Ridouan Taghi to strike fear in to traitors as he’s jailed for life for leading ‘well-oiled murder machine’ gang during Dutch narco war that saw beheadings and revenge killings

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Ridouan Taghi, once Holland's most wanted fugitive, has been sentenced to life in prison

“Europe’s most feared drug lord” has been sentenced to life in prison by a Dutch court following a mega high-security mafia trial.

The court today convicted 17 suspects in the long trial of an underworld gang that masterminded a series of murders, known as the Marengo Trial.

Judges sentenced three of them, including the gang’s “undisputed leader” Ridouan Taghi, once Holland’s most wanted fugitive, to life in prison in a court known as the “Bunker.”

The trial and three more murders linked to the case have captivated and shaken the Netherlands, exposing the deadly reality of the country’s drug-fueled criminal underworld.

The court heard that Taghi, reputedly Europe’s most feared and powerful drug trafficker, had a simple rule: “If you talk, you die.”

He rose through the ranks to become a cartel boss by smuggling record amounts of cocaine into Europe’s ports and is said to be worth $1 billion (£789m).

Prosecutors have insisted on life sentences for Taghi, 46, who has pleaded not guilty, and five of his co-defendants, for their role in what they called a “well-oiled murder machine.”

Ridouan Taghi, once Holland's most wanted fugitive, has been sentenced to life in prison

Ridouan Taghi, once Holland’s most wanted fugitive, has been sentenced to life in prison

A secured car arrives at the maximum security court for the verdict in the Marengo criminal case in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

A secured car arrives at the maximum security court for the verdict in the Marengo criminal case in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

A secured car arrives at the maximum security court for the verdict in the Marengo criminal case in Amsterdam on Tuesday.

Lawyers arrive at the maximum security court on Tuesday to hear the verdict in the Marengo criminal case in Amsterdam.

Lawyers arrive at the maximum security court on Tuesday to hear the verdict in the Marengo criminal case in Amsterdam.

Lawyers arrive at the maximum security court on Tuesday to hear the verdict in the Marengo criminal case in Amsterdam.

Taghi and several co-defendants did not attend the final day of their trial at a heavily guarded court on the outskirts of the Dutch capital.

Heavily armed police officers, wearing bulletproof vests, helmets and balaclavas, patrolled the streets around the courthouse as cars carrying some of the defendants pulled into an underground parking lot for the hearing.

Taghi was convicted of five counts of murder, including that of a man called Hakim Changachi, who was shot dead in Utrecht in 2017 in what prosecutors say was a case of mistaken identity.

“Taghi ordered the killing” of another man who lived in the same block of flats as Changachi, the judge said.

“Taghi was responsible for the error,” the judge added.

“He decided who would be killed and spared no one,” said the judge presiding over the case. “The amount of suffering Taghi caused the victims and their loved ones is barely imaginable.”

The court ruled that Taghi also used extreme violence to intimidate enemies and potential police informants.

‘By doing so, he prevented people from cooperating with the police. “This type of terror has a disturbing effect on society,” the president of the court said. Court officials asked the media not to identify the judges by name for security reasons.

At least three people directly related to the six-year megatrial, named after a judicial code word for the operation, have been killed.

The brother of a key witness, identified only as Nabil B., his lawyer and a journalist who acted as the witness’s confidant were murdered in the nearly six years since the trial began.

Lawyer Derk Wiersum was shot dead outside his home in Amsterdam on September 18, 2019. Two men have been found guilty of murder for his murder.

Journalist Peter R. de Vries was also shot in Amsterdam while walking to his car from a television studio on July 6, 2021. He died nine days later from his injuries. Prosecutors have asked for life sentences for three of the suspects in his murder.

De Vries acted as Nabil B.’s confidant at the time of his murder and had previously said that he was on Taghi’s hit list.

At one point during the brutal drug battles, a severed head was placed outside a place frequented by rivals in a show of intimidation.

The wave of killings gave the already grim trial “a dark edge,” the judge presiding over the trial told a packed courtroom.

Taghi was found guilty of five counts of murder, including that of a man called Hakim Changachi (pictured), who was shot dead in Utrecht in 2017 in what prosecutors say was a case of mistaken identity.

Taghi was found guilty of five counts of murder, including that of a man called Hakim Changachi (pictured), who was shot dead in Utrecht in 2017 in what prosecutors say was a case of mistaken identity.

Taghi was found guilty of five counts of murder, including that of a man called Hakim Changachi (pictured), who was shot dead in Utrecht in 2017 in what prosecutors say was a case of mistaken identity.

Ronald Bakker, shot dead in front of his home after the gang suspected he had been cooperating with police.

Ronald Bakker, shot dead in front of his home after the gang suspected he had been cooperating with police.

Ronald Bakker, shot dead in front of his home after the gang suspected he had been cooperating with police.

Naima Jilal, who is also believed to be one of Taghi's victims

Naima Jilal, who is also believed to be one of Taghi's victims

Naima Jilal, who is also believed to be one of Taghi’s victims

The judge lamented that De Vries “will never again occupy a press position” at the court.

Dutch King Willem-Alexander called the shooting of De Vries “an attack on journalism, the cornerstone of our constitutional state, and therefore also an attack on the rule of law.”

Taghi was one of the most wanted men in the Netherlands until he was arrested in Dubai in 2019 and brought home to stand trial. He and other defendants were accused of participating in six murders and four attempted murders.

Despite being held in an ultra-secure prison, prosecutors say he continued to pull strings, sending secret messages to henchmen outside.

Taghi’s gang received the nickname ‘Mocro-mafia’ because its members are mainly of Moroccan and Antillean origin.

The Public Ministry alleged that the defendants were part of a “completely unscrupulous murderous organization, which has killed people in a negligent and indifferent manner.”

They said the consequences of the multiple murders “were not only felt by family members, but also had broader consequences on society.”

The suspects’ lawyers had asked for their acquittal. The court rejected defense arguments that the trial was unfair and that the suspects had already been convicted in the court of public opinion.

The court ruled that Nabil B.’s testimony was trustworthy and could be used as evidence. The witness himself was also tried and sentenced to 10 years, a sentence reduced thanks to his cooperation.

Other suspects received sentences ranging from life in prison to just under two years behind bars.

Judges said the witness’ testimony led to convictions for five murders that otherwise would have gone unsolved.

But after giving him a reduced sentence, the judge presiding over the case added that “he will have to live with the reality that he will always have to look over his shoulder.”

The court also accepted decrypted telephone messages as evidence in its verdicts. Lawyers for the suspects had argued that the evidence could not be used at trial.

Convictions and sentences can be appealed.

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