The 'Marengo Trial' lasted years, finally resulting in multiple convictions of the so-called Mocro Mafia, including one of its most infamous leaders, Ridouan Taghi, who was convicted of murder among other things.

Who are the Mocro Mafia? They were born out of the Dutch-Moroccan community in the Netherlands during the 90s, starting with the smuggling of hashish before moving onto the much more profitable cocaine. Its estimated that they control up to a third of the cocaine market in Europe. But they have also left a trail of destruction in their wake, journalists and lawyers have been murdered, bombs have been detonated, many have been killed.

The Mocro Mafia have grown beyond the Netherlands and now operate transnationally, they are active in the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, the UAE, Suriname, Colombia and Spain.

According to the Global Organized Crime Index, there has been an increase in the 'Criminal Actor' and 'Criminal Markets' score in Western Europe. Criminal markets have increased from 4.06 to 4.48 out of 10. All criminal markets have increased over the last few years in this region, but the largest increase was in the Mocro Mafia's prime market, the cocaine trade, now at 5.77 out of 10 - that is the highest regional score in Europe.

Presenter: Thin Lei Win

Speaker(s): Sarah Fares, Analyst, Global Initiative against Transnational Organized Crime

OC Index Country profile(s):

Netherlands country profile

Germany country profile

Belgium country profile

Spain country profile

Suriname country profile

UAE country profile

Colombia country profile

Additional Links:

Violence without borders: Why is drug-related violence spilling over into Germany?

The Global Organized Crime Index

Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime