Faissal Taghi was placed in the Extra Secure Institution (EBI) in Vught, the most secure institution in the Netherlands, in a different department than his father. He was flown to the Netherlands on a plane chartered by the Dutch government, just like his father at the end of 2019.
Faissal is suspected of participating in his father’s criminal organization, which was involved in large-scale drug trafficking, money laundering and preparing serious violence. Ridouan Taghi’s eldest son was already arrested in the United Arab Emirates at the end of July 2023 and has been in custody since then. After his father, he is one of the first Dutch suspects to be extradited from Dubai.
Violent escape plan
According to the judiciary, Faissal plays a key role in the criminal organization of father Ridouan. After Taghi senior was arrested in 2019, his eldest son ran the organization, according to the judiciary. That image is reinforced when the police discover in 2021 that Ridouan Taghi manages to smuggle messages out of prison. He is already in the strictest regime of the Extra Secure Institution (EBI) in Vught.
The police secretly listened to conversations between Ridouan Taghi and his cousin and lawyer Youssef Taghi. Despite the strict security requirements, Taghi was able to keep in touch with the outside world through him. According to the investigative services, the messages were mainly addressed to Faissal. He gave his eldest son – whom he calls ‘Genie’ – instructions about, among other things, a violent escape plan, money laundering and drug trafficking.
The police consider the eldest son to be the ‘second man’ of the organization, as stated in police documents: ‘Partly still under the wing of his father, he is put in a position by his father to manage the organization in various areas and to organize matters.’
Trucks with 2.5 million
In recent years, Faissal Taghi’s name has also surfaced in other (international) police investigations. For example, Italian case files, based on decrypted messages, show that Faissal has frequent contact with Italian mafia boss Raffaele Imperiale. This includes 2.5 million euros that his father’s business partner sends by truck from Italy to the Netherlands.
In Dubai, Raffaele Imperiale, together with Ridouan Taghi, is said to have been part of what the investigative services call the ‘super cartel’. Together, the group of criminal leaders is said to be responsible for a third of the European cocaine trade. Imperiale was arrested in 2021 and extradited to Italy. There, he entered into a crown witness arrangement with the justice department and made numerous statements. It is not clear whether he also said anything about the collaboration with Taghi and his sons.
Shortly after his arrest last year, it was also announced that the judiciary had linked Faissal to the Amsterdam record company El Chapo Productions. The music label that previously had rappers such as Boef, Lijpe and Ismo under contract was managed from both the Netherlands and Dubai, at the latter location according to the investigative services by Faissal. Drug money was allegedly laundered via the company.
Luxurious retreat
Taghi junior is one of the first Dutch suspects to be officially extradited from the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Father Ridouan did indeed come to the Netherlands after his arrest in Dubai in 2019. But there was no extradition. He was then deported from the UAE as an ‘undesirable alien’.
Over the years, Dubai built a reputation as a luxurious refuge for criminals. Also because all kinds of requests from the Netherlands to extradite escaped criminals failed for unclear reasons. Two new treaties between the Netherlands and the UAE were supposed to change that from the summer of 2023. The ink on the treaties had barely dried when Faissal Taghi was arrested. But after the arrest, it became very quiet around his extradition – despite the new treaties. Until now.
