Spain accidentally releases alleged Dutch cartel boss
By Matt Murphy
Justice officials in Spain have been left red-faced after accidentally releasing a billionaire Dutch drug lord from prison in a bureaucratic mix-up.
Karim Bouyakhrichan, allegedly a leader of the Mocro Maffia, was arrested in Marbella in January after a five-year money-laundering investigation.
But he was accidentally released amid confusion over a Dutch extradition request, before vanishing this month.
Spanish authorities remain confident the alleged cartel chief will be found.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, Justice Minister Félix Bolaños conceded that the escape was “worrying news”, but insisted that security forces “will hand this person over to justice as soon as possible”.
The Mocro Maffia refers to several of Europe’s largest cocaine trafficking cartels, and is believed to have smuggled billions of euros worth of the drug from South America into the EU over the past 15 years.
They are said to use the huge ports in Amsterdam and Rotterdam to move cocaine around the continent, while directing money-laundering operations across Europe, the Middle East and Morocco.
Media in the Netherlands have also linked the cartels to threats made against the heir to the Dutch throne, Princess Amalia. It was revealed last week that kidnapping threats from the Netherlands’ organised crime world had forced the crown princess to live in Spain for at least a year.
