Ridwan Taghi, the most feared drug lord in the Netherlands, was sentenced to life in prison on Tuesday in connection with a series of crimes committed between 2015 and 2017, Dutch justice announced, according to AFP, citing Agerpres.

Soldiers were even brought in to guard the courtroom where Riduan Taghi was being tried Photo: Ramon van Fleimen / AFP / Profimedia

“We condemn all the suspects. Riduan Taghi receives a life sentence,” said an unidentified judge for security reasons at the court where the trial was held. The other 16 cartel members charged in the trial were found guilty and sentenced to prison terms ranging from one year and nine months to life imprisonment.

The hearing took place in a high-security court known as the “Bunker” near Amsterdam.

According to prosecutors, Taghi, who was arrested in Dubai in 2019, continued to run his network by sending messages to accomplices from outside a maximum-security prison in the Netherlands, where he was being held. His trial, nicknamed “Marengo”, is unprecedented in the Netherlands, observers say, as the army has been mobilized to guard the court during hearings, where prosecutors and judges are taken in armored vehicles.

The case also inspired the Dutch streaming platform to create a multi-part movie with the same title, Mocro Maffia. The indictment calls for life in prison for Taghi and five others and between 5 and 26 years in prison for the others.

Riduan Taghi condemned the “mock trial” against him

The crimes were committed between 2015 and 2017 and were mainly directed against individuals suspected by gang members of becoming police informants. The prosecution considers the murder of a certain Hakim Changachi in 2017 in Utrecht to be a mistake. Shortly thereafter, one of the alleged members of the network, identified as “Nabil B.”, surrendered to police and agreed to testify.

After that, a new wave of violence began that shocked the country: three people from Nabil B.’s entourage were killed: his brother in 2018, his lawyer Derk Wirsum in 2019, and the well-known journalist Peter R. de Vries, who was considered his confidant , in 2021.

Riduan Taghi has denied all the charges, saying the money spent on what he called a “sham court” should have been better invested in education, health care and police training, newspaper Het Parool reported.

Tagi’s lawyer, Inez Veski, was arrested in April 2023 on suspicion of helping her client communicate with the outside world. Several lawyers appointed later resigned, saying they had not had time to prepare, and Taghi decided to defend himself.