By David Amoruso for Gangsters Inc.
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 Het Parool reported yesterday. He was the first to put police on the trail of Taghi and his enormous criminal empire.
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.
Kidnappers and hitters
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.
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A hit team had been sent to kill him, Buzhu told police. So, he would tell them about Ridouan Taghi (photo right) and his right-hand man Saïd Razzouki. At that time, police had no clue about Taghi or the reach of his organization.
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).
Top of the hit list
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.
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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.
Deadly ghost
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.
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.
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.
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.
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