The Public Prosecution Service demanded nine years in prison in the court in Lelystad on Friday against 45-year-old Taoufik El M. from Almere for large-scale cocaine trafficking and money laundering. According to justice, the man trafficked 1,252 kilos of cocaine in 2020 and laundered almost four million euros in cash.
(Image from archive)
At first glance, El M. seemed like an ordinary citizen, according to the Public Prosecution Service. He lived in a terraced house, with a neat family and had a good job. Yet the police discovered through decrypted chat messages that he played an important role in the cocaine trade. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the file contains sufficient evidence to demonstrate that he trafficked 1,252 kilos of cocaine and laundered almost four million euros.
“This case also shows that this caliber of drug trafficking is not just something from series or films, but it can simply be the neighbor,” the prosecutor said. ‘Breaking Bad in Almere Buiten.’
Middle management
According to the Public Prosecution Service, decrypted Sky ECC messages show that Taoufik El M. was very active in the cocaine trade in the last months of 2020. ‘The chats show that the suspect and his co-suspects do not belong to the bottom of the drug world. These are not street dealers who sell grams with disposable Nokias,” the public prosecutor concludes. ‘The suspect has shown through the enormous amounts of drugs, money and the PGP telephones that he operated in the middle management of the organized drug trade.’
Search
In addition to the chats, the evidence in the file also consists of the results of the search of El M’s house. Ten kilos of cocaine and almost 10,000 euros in cash were found there on July 19, 2023. According to the Public Prosecution Service, the suspect’s own statements also confirm his role in the cocaine trade.
Strafeis
When determining the sentence, the personal circumstances of the suspect, his criminal record and the seriousness of the offenses were taken into account. In a reduced sentence, the Public Prosecution Service takes into account the fact that the suspect has been open to a certain extent and that the suspect has not frustrated the progress of this case.
According to the Public Prosecution Service, the punishment is aggravated by the ‘enormous amount of drugs and money that the suspect is alleged to have traded or laundered’. ‘1252 kilos of cocaine and almost four million euros in cash. These quantities appeal to the imagination and they speak volumes.’
Taking everything into account, the Public Prosecution Service demands a nine-year prison sentence. The court will make its ruling in two weeks.
