Naoufal Fassih
Naoufal Fassih, also known as Buik (Dutch for "belly"), is a Dutch criminal of Moroccan origins.[1][2] He has been at the centre of a longrunning feud between two Dutch crime gangs.[2]
Criminal background
[edit]He has criminal links to Spain, Ireland and Morocco.[2]
Feud
[edit]In March 2012 customs seized 200 to 400 kg of cocaine in Antwerp.[2] The seizure was not announced, leading the gang in question to think they had been ripped off by rival criminals.[2]
Fassih was associated with Gwenette Martha, who was assassinated in Amsterdam in May 2014 when 80 rounds were fired at him as he left a kebab shop.[2]
Fassih was allegedly present at another assassination, that of Samir Bouyakhrichan, in Benahavis, near Marbella in August 2014.[2] Dutch police believe that he was there with five others.[2]
Bouyakhrichan was associated with another criminal called Danny Kuiters (aka Danny Daimler).[2] One of Kuiter's enforcers was Peter Raap.[2]
On 4 November 2015 Dutch police bugging a car heard Wafaa Balfallah, Fassih's girlfriend, counting out €8,000 in €500 notes and giving the cash to a man in Eindhoven.[2] Dutch police believe she then flew to Dublin, from where she contacted Fassih.[2]
The following day an attempt was made to murder Peter Raap near Amsterdam.[1] Forty shots were fired and the victim was hit seven times, though he survived.[1] He was sitting in his car on the outskirts of Amsterdam beside a canal when the attack happened.[2] He managed to climb out of the car and conceal himself in the canal.[2]
A witness got the number of the assailants' car and Dutch police arrested three men.[2] Dutch police found a BlackBerry on one of the three where the contact details for Fassih were stored under "Buik".[2]
Arrest in Dublin
[edit]In April 2016 Gardaí were executing a search warrant on an apartment in Baggot Street that they believe belonged to the Kinahan gang when Fassih answered the door.[1] Gardaí did not know who he was, though they suspected he was connected to organised crime.[1] Gardaí found a fake Dutch passport, a fake Belgian ID card, three designer watches worth up to €90,000, phones, memory sticks, €12,825 in cash and £300 in sterling.[2] He was wearing €800 trainers.[2]
He told them he was Omar Ghazouani.[2]
He was identified when his fingerprints were sent to Interpol.[2] Two arrest warrants were sent - one for a fight on a Dutch street and money-laundering in the Netherlands, the second for money-laundering relating to the cash found in the apartment in Dublin with him.[2] Messages on the phone from him criticised the gang for their failure to kill Raap.[1]
Gardaí described him as being easy to deal with when in custody.[2] When a third warrant, alleging complicity in the attempt on Peter Raap, he became agitated.[2]
Convictions
[edit]He was jailed in April 2018 for 18 years for his part in the attempt on the life of Peter Raap.[1] He was the sixth person to be convicted for a role in the crime, others having received sentences from 17 to 20 years.[1] He was convicted because he had issued instructions to kill Raap.[1]
He was also convicted of involvement with the murder of Ali Motamed.[3] He subcontracted the murder to hitmen in the Netherlands.[3] Evidence seized from Ennetcom led to him being convicted of one charge of murder and one of attempted murder.[3] Emails revealed that €130,000 was offered for the murder of Motamed, though the identity of whoever offered the money has never been established.[3]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f g h i Lally, Conor (20 April 2018). "Dutch criminal jailed for 18 years following extradition from Ireland". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w Murtagh, Peter (4 February 2017). "Why was notorious Dutchman hiding out in Kinahan safe house?". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
- ^ a b c d Cummins, Barry (2021-10-14). "The global links of the Kinahan organised crime gang". Prime Time (Irish TV programme). Retrieved 2021-10-15.