Billionaire drug lord linked to plot to kill the heir to the Dutch throne is on the run after being accidentally released

A billionaire drug lord who was linked to murder and kidnap threats against the heir to the Dutch throne is on the run - after being released from prison accidentally.

An alleged leader of the Mocro Maffia, Karim Bouyakhrichan, 46, was arrested in January following a money-laundering investigation, but he was accidentally released when a Dutch extradition request was muddled up.

He then went on the run this month in what was called 'worrying news'. The suspected cartel chief has also been linked to a plot to kidnap Princess Amalia, the heir to the Dutch throne.

The Mocro Maffia encompasses several large cocaine trafficking cartels and is suspected of smuggling billions of euros worth of the drug over the last 15 years.

A billionaire drug lord who was linked to a plot to kidnap the heir to the Dutch throne Princess Amalia (pictured)  is on the run - after being released from prison accidentally

Pictured are Queen Maxima of The Netherlands and Princess Amalia of The Netherlands

Security staff stands guard outside the court bunker in Amsterdam-Osdorp before a hearing where Dutch drug kingpin Ridouan Taghi of Mocro Maffia received a life sentence

These cartels have been linked by Netherlands' media to threats made against the Dutch Princess, according to the BBC.

Kidnapping threats from the organised crime world even led to the Princess living in Spain for at least a year, it was revealed last week.

Bouyakhrichan was hunted by Interpol for at least five years and was one of the most wanted criminals in Europe.

His brother, Samir, is suspect of founding one arm of the Dutch-Moroccan outfit Mocro Maffia before he was gunned down in 2014.

And it is alleged Bouyakhrichan subsequently took over. He was accidentally released when Dutch authorities requested he be extradited.

This was initially approved, but local officials insisted he face the charges in Spain, where he was being held.

Eventually, the count granted an appeal lodged by his lawyers and ordered his release, pending extradition, if he paid £43,000 bail.

Local media reported that 'less burdensome' measures such as forcing him to give up his passport and report to court every 15 days were seen as sufficient to tackle the risk of fleeing.

And he did report to court regularly from February 22 until April 1 - when he vanished. 

A spokesperson at the Dutch public prosecutor's office told the BBC it is 'unknown' why he was released from prison. 

Dutch drug kingpin Ridouan Taghi received a life sentence on February 27, 2024, for a series of murders his gang, the so called 'Mocro Maffia', led Taghi, committed between 2015 and 2017

The Dutch-Moroccan leader of the Mocro Mafia, Ridouan Taghi, was arrested in 2019

In 2022, Dutch police ordered their Princess of Orange to leave her studies in Amsterdam and return home amid fears the mafia was plotting to kidnap her.

Authorities in the Netherlands ramped up security measures to protect the nation's Crown Princess Catharina-Amalia, 18, who just weeks ago had left her parents' royal residence in The Hague, to begin her studies in the Dutch capital.

The safety of the teenage princess was in jeopardy due to the nefarious designs of the infamous 'Mocro Maffia' - a division of the Moroccan Mafia operating in the Netherlands which is believed to control roughly a third of all cocaine traffic in Europe. 

The Dutch-Moroccan leader of the Mocro Mafia, Ridouan Taghi, was arrested in 2019 and is currently in a Dutch prison.

De Telegraaf claimed fears of an attempted kidnapping or attack on the princess were sparked when authorities discovered Taghi had corresponded with one of his cronies who had murdered a Dutch filmmaker in 2004.

The pair sent several letters to one another containing passages from the Koran, which Dutch authorities believe may contain coded messages.

The Mocro Maffia hit headlines in the Netherlands in July 2021 when prominent investigative journalist Peter de Vries was gunned down in broad daylight in the streets of Amsterdam.