Arrested on December 17 in Dubai, Moroccan-born criminal Ridouan Taghi is currently held at a high-security Dutch jail. Inez Weski, his lawyer, told media upon his extradition to the Netherlands that he was taken «against his will». To Taghi's lawyer, her client was «kidnapped» and not «extradited», because the Netherlands does not have an extradition agreement with the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Although Taghi was not extradited to Morocco, Rabat has contributed to his arrest. According to Arabic-language newspaper Assabah, the Moroccan authorities have helped locate Ridouan Taghi, especially after the arrest of two other people involved in the Café la Créme shooting in Marrakech. Police chief in Amsterdam Andy Kraag confirmed to Dutch media Destentor that the Moroccan side showed that Ridouan Taghi was not in Morocco. In July, these elements enabled the Dutch police to conclude that the 42-year-old man was in the UAE. Taghi, who is also known as one of the leading figures of Dutch criminal network Mocro mafia (Moroccan mafia), was wanted on an international arrest warrant issued by Amsterdam. He is also suspected of plotting the 2017 Café la Crème shooting in Marrakech. In the Netherlands, Taghi will be heard for his direct involvement in the death of five people in the Netherlands. Sixteen other suspects are being prosecuted for the same cases, including his henchman Saïd Razzouki, who is still at large. Unlike the Netherlands, Morocco has a formal extradition agreement with the United Arab Emirates, but the arrest and extradition were made at the request of Amsterdam. The hunt for Taghi has been a priority for the Netherlands, which considered him as one of the most wanted criminals.
