morocco - Blog - Gangsters Inc. - www.gangstersinc.org
2024-03-28T12:08:17Z
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/feed/tag/morocco
Spanish police bust 20 suspected money launderers and drug traffickers, seize millions in assets
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/spanish-police-bust-20-suspected-money-launderers-and-drug-traffi
2023-02-27T13:49:36.000Z
2023-02-27T13:49:36.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10973755674?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a>Editors</p>
<p>A joint investigation led by the Spanish Guardia Civil resulted in the arrest of 20 suspected money launderers and drug traffickers and the seizure of over €5.5 million in criminal assets and over 2 tons of drugs. Based in the South of Spain, the criminal network was composed of Albanian, Italian, Spanish and Moroccan nationals, and was led by Italian nationals who evaded capture using forged identity documents.</p>
<p>These Italians had European Arrest Orders on them so they used falsified documents to veil their identities. Residing in towns between Seville and Malaga, they attempted to avoid detection by taking various security measures and by frequently changing their addresses.</p>
<p>The criminal network used a variety of money laundering methods to obfuscate their drug trafficking proceeds. These included the channeling of money - through business bank accounts using fake invoices, loans, or other debts - among a network of companies involved in the transport of drugs. Other methods used were investments in luxury real estate, rentals, luxury goods and vehicles, as well as cash payments.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Drug lab and marijuana plantation</strong></span></p>
<p>Investigations in this case began in October 2021, when a hashish shipment was found hidden in a lorry transporting pallets of onions. Law enforcement arrested the two drivers and seized 468 kilograms of hashish. This was followed by another seizure of 194 kilograms of hashish and 30 kilograms of marijuana in May 2022. In the same month a boat chartered by the criminal organization was intercepted by law enforcement on the open sea, resulting in the arrest of its three occupants, as well as the seizure of 1 800 kilograms of hashish and the vessel itself.</p>
<p>The interception of this large shipment from Morocco shows that it has become increasingly difficult for criminals to import drugs via the sea. To circumvent this issue, the organization had built a laboratory for hashish production and set up a large marijuana plantation in southern Spain. These were discovered in the course of the operation, which involved more than 150 law enforcement officials.</p>
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Man who gave police info on Moroccan-Dutch drug lord Ridouan Taghi found shot to death in Spain
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/man-who-gave-police-info-on-moroccan-dutch-drug-lord-ridouan-tagh
2022-01-22T08:07:09.000Z
2022-01-22T08:07:09.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/10033095077?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By David Amoruso for <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a></p>
<p>A man who gave Dutch police information on alleged drug lord Ridouan Taghi was murdered in Spain. The dead body of drug trafficker Ebrahim Buzhu was found in a burnt-out car on a dirt road near the Spanish town of Chiclana de la Frontera, south of the city of Cádiz on January 16. He had been shot in the head, Dutch newspaper <a href="https://www.parool.nl/amsterdam/aartsrivaal-van-ridouan-taghi-geliquideerd-in-zuid-spanje-ebrahim-de-slager-buzhu-52~b747cd28/" target="_blank">Het Parool</a> reported yesterday. He was the first to put police on the trail of Taghi and his enormous criminal empire.</p>
<p>52-year-old Buzhu went by the nickname “The Butcher” and was a big player in the underworld of the city of Utrecht in the Netherlands. Taghi operated in the same area. In the summer of 2015, Buzhu went to police to share information on Taghi.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Kidnappers and hitters</strong></span></p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}10033097064,RESIZE_400x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="10033097064?profile=RESIZE_400x" width="300" /></a>He was fearing for his life after Taghi’s organization allegedly linked him to the 2009 kidnapping of one of its men, Amsterdam coffeeshop owner Saïd Faggouss. Six months later, Faggouss managed to escape from his captors, who by then had held him captive in a mansion in Belgium.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-of-moroccan-drug-boss-ridouan-taghi-he-who-talks-goes-and" target="_blank">Profile of Moroccan drug boss Ridouan Taghi</a> - “He who talks, goes. And everyone around him goes to sleep”</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>A hit team had been sent to kill him, Buzhu told police. So, he would tell them about <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/profile-of-moroccan-drug-boss-ridouan-taghi-he-who-talks-goes-and" target="_blank">Ridouan Taghi</a> (photo right) and his right-hand man Saïd Razzouki. At that time, police had no clue about Taghi or the reach of his organization.</p>
<p>Buzhu’s statements were the start of intense police heat on Taghi and his group. Investigators uncovered a well-oiled machine that trafficked large amounts of cocaine and ran murder squads consisting of different cells responsible for providing material (cars, weapons), providing surveillance and intelligence on targets (so called spotters) and providing hitmen (called hitters).</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Top of the hit list</strong></span></p>
<p>From the moment he had talked to police about Taghi, Buzhu was put on a hit list. Not just that, he was placed at the very top of that list.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>READ: “We have to do some damage control” - Profile of </strong><a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/we-have-to-do-some-damage-control-profile-of-moroccan-dutch-femal" target="_blank"><strong>Moroccan-Dutch female drug boss Naima Jillal</strong></a></li>
</ul>
<p>When he couldn’t find Buzhu, Taghi saw the men who worked for or with him as viable targets as well. Like Samir Erraghib, who was shot to death in 2016 in front of his home, while his 7-year-old daughter sat next to him. Or, a few months later, Ranko Scekic, who was also shot to death in front of his home.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Deadly ghost</strong></span></p>
<p>As the body count went up, Taghi slowly became a ghost. His deadly reach was felt by his enemies and the public, but he himself could not be found. Until authorities in the United Arab Emirates managed to locate him at a villa in Dubai.</p>
<p>Police raided the place while Taghi was asleep. After his arrest, he was extradited to the Netherlands where he has been locked up in a maximum security prison ever since, awaiting his final day in court.</p>
<p>Despite his imprisonment, Taghi’s enemies continued to end up dead. It seemed his organization simply went on carrying out his wishes and demands. Authorities allege he used his cousin Youssef, who also worked as his lawyer, to send message to his associates. That cousin was arrested in October of 2021.</p>
<p>Whether Taghi was behind the murder of Buzhu remains to be seen. Those who operate in the underworld and share information with police tend to walk a risky road. Death could come from any direction.</p>
<ul>
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Spanish Moroccan crime group busted for large-scale drug trafficking and money laundering
https://gangstersinc.org/blog/spanish-moroccan-crime-group-busted-for-large-scale-drug-traffick
2021-12-21T05:48:13.000Z
2021-12-21T05:48:13.000Z
Gangsters Inc.
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<div><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/9930717297?profile=RESIZE_400x&width=400"></div><div><p>By <a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank">Gangsters Inc.</a> Editors</p>
<p>An international drug trafficking organization was busted on 14 and 15 December by the Belgian Federal Police, the French Gendarmerie, and the Spanish Civil Guard with support by Europol. The gang was comprised of Spanish and Moroccan nationals and allegedly smuggled tons of hashish and cocaine from Morocco to Spain.</p>
<p>The group trafficked the drugs to Southern Spain using speedboats. Two seizures made earlier in 2021, four of 4300 kg hashish and one of 1300 kg cocaine, are connected to this criminal organization.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Major boss</strong></span></p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-right" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9930717668,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9930717668?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="208" height="141" /></a></strong></span>In total 17 individuals were arrested - 11 Spanish and 6 Moroccan nationals. Two of these had an international arrest warrant against them in connection to a seizure of 1004 kg cocaine made in 2018 in Morocco.</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>ALSO READ: <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/from-morocco-to-spain-in-30-minutes-how-a-crime-group-smuggled-mi" target="_blank">From Morocco to Spain in 30 minutes</a>: How gang smuggled migrants and cannabis on jet skis</strong></li>
</ul>
<p>The alleged leader of the organization is believed to be one of the major importers of cocaine and hashish from Morocco to the Iberian Peninsula. Spanish Civil Guard officers arrested him while he was coordinating a number of seaborne drug trafficking operations.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>Using legal businesses to wash the drug money</strong></span></p>
<p>The organized crime group created and misused a large network of companies, including several cash-intensive businesses such as two restaurants in Barcelona. These businesses served to launder the drug trafficking proceeds.</p>
<p><iframe title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cpTBrPu8JWE" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></p>
<p>The profits were also laundered through the payment of mortgages and simulated loans. The suspects also used cash to cover costs related to facilitating their drug trafficking activities and buying the required equipment, such as cars and vessels. A large number of the assets owned by the suspects and their families were not justified by any legally obtained and declared resource.</p>
<p><span style="font-size:14pt;"><strong>€6 million seized</strong></span></p>
<p>Authorities searched 16 houses located in Barcelona, Cadiz and Galicia and seized goods worth more than €6 million including: 10 luxury watches worth about €2.1 million, 8 real estate properties worth about €1.9 million, more than €1 million in cash, 26 cars worth about €1 million, 1 vessel valued at approximately €100,000, 760 lottery tickets with a value of €15,200, a banknote counter, a large number of smartphones and electronic equipment, and 33 bank accounts.</p>
<p><a href="http://www.gangstersinc.org" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="{{#staticFileLink}}9930715899,RESIZE_710x{{/staticFileLink}}" alt="9930715899?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="609" /></a></p>
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<li><strong>Back to the <a href="https://gangstersinc.org/profiles/blogs/europe-overview">European organized crime section</a> on Gangsters Inc.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Check out the latest news on organized crime and the Mafia at our <a href="https://gangstersinc.ning.com/blog/list/tag/news">news section</a></strong></li>
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<p><strong>Copyright © Gangsters Inc.</strong></p></div>