A billionaire drug lord was arrested in Spain on money laundering charges but was released after posting $53,000 bail, according to reports. He then simply disappeared.
At a press conference on Tuesday, Felix Bolaños, Spain’s justice minister, called the development “worrying news” but added that security forces would bring the man to justice “as soon as possible.”
Karim Bouyakhrichan was one of the most important leaders of a Dutch-Moroccan cocaine cartel, according to Spanish authorities, and was arrested with five other suspects in January.
They were accused of purchasing 172 properties in Spain worth more than 50 million euros, or about $53 million, to launder proceeds from drug trafficking operations, the Spanish National Police said in a statement at the time. A press release.
This follows a five-year investigation which police say showed the suspects created a criminal organization involved in large-scale drug trafficking, including the smuggling of significant quantities of cocaine.
The press release does not name Bouyakhrichan but describes him as one of the leaders of the so-called Mocro Maffia – a nickname given to a network of drug gangs of Moroccan origin operating in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain and in Morocco.
According to the BBC, the Mocro Maffia has smuggled billions of dollars worth of drugs from South America to Europe over the past fifteen years.
Politico called Bouyakhrichan a billionaire with bank accounts and properties around the world.
He also reported that police had obtained credible evidence that he had planned to kidnap or kill the heir to the Dutch throne, forcing her, for security reasons, to leave her student accommodation and return to the royal palace in 2022.
Bouyakhrichan was expected to be extradited to the Netherlands after authorities filed an extradition order requesting that he be returned to the Netherlands to stand trial for his drug trafficking empire, according to Spanish radio Cadena SER.
But shortly after his arrest, Bouyakhrichan’s lawyer challenged his detention, citing a lack of evidence of criminal activity to justify imprisonment and no risk of flight, according to court records viewed by Business Insider.
The court rejected all arguments put forward by Bouyakhrichan’s lawyer, but ruled that preventing the risk of flight could be achieved through “less onerous” security measures.
The judge then imposed bail of €50,000, or about $53,000, confiscated Bouyakhrichan’s passport and ordered him to report to authorities every fortnight.
According to the BBC, Bouyakhrichan was accidentally released amid confusion over the Netherlands’ extradition request. He describes him as one of the most wanted criminals in Europe.
Vincent Veenman, a spokesman for the Dutch prosecutor’s office in The Hague, said it was unclear why Bouyakhrichan had not been detained pending extradition, according to multiple reports.
“We are currently awaiting a decision on the extradition request,” he said, adding that cooperation with Spanish justice was “generally good” and that “dozens of suspects are handed over every year.”
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