Ep 5. On Bended Knee is No Way to be Free | Peter R De Vries
Gateway: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in EuropeShow Notes
Dutch TV journalist Peter R De Vries is famous for cracking the criminal cases that no one else can. But with Ridouan Taghi, Peter meets his match. When Peter joins crown witness Nabil B’s legal team, he crosses a line that Taghi can’t accept.
This is GATEWAY, a six-part podcast from Project Brazen revealing the rise of a new generation of cocaine kingpins in Europe.
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More from Gateway: Cocaine, Murder, & Dirty Money in Europe
It’s been a couple of months since the last episode of Gateway: Cocaine, Murders & Dirty Money in Europe, but business is busy as ever in the world of global drug trafficking. This week, we wanted to share an important update with fans of the series: Ridouan Taghi has been sentenced.
Gateway host Mitchell Prothero visits “The Bunker” where Taghi is the star defendant in the largest criminal trial in Dutch history. As Taghi faces justice, his impact spreads far beyond the courtroom. Who will be the next kingpin to replace him?
After a killing goes horribly wrong, Nabil B, one of Ridouan Taghi’s close associates, finds himself torn between family and Taghi. Fearing for his life, Nabil B makes a fateful choice. He walks into a Dutch police station and unspools Taghi’s secrets. Another mistaken killing leads to Taghi’s arrest in Dubai and he ends up where he began so many years before—in The Netherlands. He becomes the star defendant in the largest criminal trial in Dutch history. The crown witness for the government is Taghi’s close associate, Nabil B.
A twice-convicted murderer, Martin Kok is also one of The Netherland’s most popular crime bloggers. But he goes too far when he publishes Ridouan Taghi’s name. Soon, Taghi’s violence begins to spread far beyond the underworld.
While Ridouan Taghi grows his empire, Noffel Fassih, aka The Belly, does his dirty work as a global hitman. But two botched killings threaten to bring his operations to an end. Meanwhile, Taghi finds a new home where authorities are more likely to turn a blind eye… he moves to Dubai.