Police link international drug traffickers to four shootings in Netherlands

The police linked an international criminal network involved in, among other things, large-scale drug trafficking to four shootings in the Netherlands. The police placed the network’s alleged leaders - Fahd el Kandoussi (38) and Mohammed Kajdouh (46) - on the national wanted list and released their photos on Opsporing Verzocht on Tuesday.

According to the police, at least four shooting incidents in the Netherlands in May and June 2020 are linked to El Kandoussi and Kajdouh’s criminal organization. Gunmen shot first at a house and then at a man and his 9-year-old daughter in Waalwijk. In Tilburg, someone fired shots at a hairdresser’s shop and the house above it. The fourth incident involved a shooting in a chalet in Tienhoven.

El Kandoussi has already been convicted and sentenced in absentia to 12 years in prison for the Tienhoven shooting. According to the Dutch authorities, he ordered the shooting due to a conflict over cocaine trade.

Fahd el Kandoussi grew up in Wageningen. His most recent known whereabouts are in Morocco, where he spent a short time in prison. The police believe Kandoussi is still in Morocco, but he may visit other countries, likely using a false name and a forged passport.

Mohammed Najib Kajdouh lived in Amsterdam for a long time and has both Moroccan and Dutch nationality. The police believe he is either in Dubai, Morocco, or Turkey, though he may also travel to other countries with forged papers.