Dutch fugitive arrested in Marocco after eight years on the run

The Moroccan authorities arrested 42-year-old Christo H. from Bergen op Zoom in the city of Meknes on Wednesday, the Public Prosecution Service (OM) announced. The man has been evading authorities for eight years since a Dutch court sentenced him in absentia to 12 years in prison on two counts of attempted manslaughter in 2015.

In 2018, the court considered it proven that H. shot two men at close range on 27 June 2015. The motive was a fight between children at a playground in Beren op Zoom. The man fled the scene of the shooting and has evaded the authorities ever since.

According to the OM, the authorities found H. in Meknes not based on a tip but due to “a long investigation and excellent cooperation between the Moroccan police and a team of the Dutch police specially charged with these tasks.”

The OM had promised a reward of 100,000 euros for information leading to H.’s whereabouts. Because the police found the man, the reward won’t be paid.