One of Europe’s most wanted criminals who is linked to a plot to kill a Dutch princess is on the run after a Spanish court allowed him to walk free.
Karim Bouyakhrichan, a leader of one of the Netherlands’ “Mocro Mafia” cartels, was arrested after a major money laundering operation in Marbella in January but skipped bail after being released.
His arrest three months ago was a huge relief to the Dutch royal family and Princess Amalia, who fled the Netherlands in 2022 amid fears she was a kidnapping or assassination target for drug gangs.
Félix Bolaños, the Spanish justice minister, told reporters his release and failure to attend court was “worrying news”. He said that the authorities “will hand this person over to justice as soon as possible”.
The 20-year-old princess had been able to return to the Netherlands, it was reported last week, after living in hiding in Madrid for at least a year. Before moving to the capital she was under close protection in the royal palace in the Hague.
Intercepted communications between members of Dutch-Moroccan gangs had mentioned her name, and that of Mark Rutte, the prime minister, forcing her to ditch plans to live in student accommodation in Amsterdam while studying for her degree.
The threat to Amalia had not disappeared but she was able to live and study in the Netherlands again, thanks to unspecified “measures”, royal sources told state broadcaster NOS earlier this month.
After his arrest over the purchase of 172 Spanish properties worth £42.9 million, Dutch authorities filed an extradition request for Bouyakhrichan, 46.
The drug lord is nicknamed “Taxi” and has been hunted by Interpol for five years. He is suspected of leading a cocaine smuggling operation that stretches across Europe and involvement in a bloody turf war that has led to deaths in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Morocco.
The extradition request was rejected by a Spanish court, which said Bouyakhrichan should face the money laundering charges in Spain first.
The Dutch successfully appealed the decision and the extradition was granted. Spain’s National Court failed to issue an order that would have kept the kingpin in custody until his extradition.
At a preliminary hearing into the money laundering charges at a Malaga court last month, the judge agreed to release Mr Bouyakhrichan on a €50,000 bail.
The billionaire gang boss paid the bail and was ordered to report to the court in April. He hasn’t been seen since and is believed to have a worldwide portfolio of properties to hide in.
Mocro Mafia
Mr Bouyakhrichan’s brother Samir is believed to have founded one arm of the notorious Mocro Mafia before he was gunned down in 2014.
His great rival is reportedly Ridouan Taghi, who denied any plot against the princess before he was sentenced to life in prison for five murders in February.
Before his sentencing, the Dutch-Moroccan crime boss is thought to have ordered three murders connected to his trial, including a lawyer, a TV journalist and the brother of a crown witness.
The gangland hits led to fears that Taghi was still running his criminal empire from prison and that the Netherlands had become a “narco state”.
Taghi and Mr Bouyakhrichan have both been reported to have ordered ultimately failed gangland hits on each other over the years.
A Dutch public prosecutor’s office spokesman said it was “unknown” why Mr Bouyakhrichan had been released but said cooperation with Spain was “generally good”, adding that “dozens of suspects are handed over every year”.
In February, Princess Amalia spoke publicly about the threats for the first time. “I miss normal life, the life of a student. Walking the streets, going to a store,” she said.
Source Agencies
