Cousin of alleged crime boss Ridouan Taghi arrested for drug trafficking in Utrecht

The police arrested a 29-year-old man from Utrecht on Friday for drug trafficking, the police reported on Saturday. According to De Telegraaf, it concerns Anouar Taghi, the cousin of the alleged crime lord Ridouan Taghi.

However, a police spokesperson did not want to confirm whether it is indeed Taghi's cousin. The suspect is in restriction and is only allowed to have contact with his lawyer, the police reported.

This is not the first offense for Anouar T. Because the cousin of suspected crime lord Ridouan Taghi was already suspected of leading a criminal organization of car thieves, NOS wrote. He is also allegedly indirectly involved in the murder of lawyer Derk Wiersum and key witness Nabil B. in 2019, as he supplied cars in the frame of the murders.

Now Anouar T. is additionally suspected of drug trafficking and was arrested again. According to NOS, the arrest is another building block in the fight against the entire criminal power structure around Ridouan Taghi. The so-called "Approach to Criminal Power Structures" (ACM) is the strategy of the National Criminal Police to dismantle the long-standing criminal network.

On Friday, Ridouan Taghi's lawyer, Inez Weski was also arrested. She is suspected of participating in a criminal organization engaged in international drug trafficking, money laundering, and breaching secrets. She allegedly She allegedly passed on Taghi's information from the Extra Beveiligde Inrichting (EBI) in Vught with his contacts in the outside world.