Prime Minister of the Netherlands Mark Rutte has been given extra security after threats of potential kidnapping or an attack have surfaced from organised criminal gangs.
Information has come to light claiming that the Dutch leader has been followed in his day to day life by “spotters” connected to the Moroccan-background “Mocro” Mafia clans, fueling concerns that an attack or attempted kidnapping may be planned by criminal groups.
As a result, police from the Royal and Diplomatic Security Service (DKDB) have been assigned as security detail for Prime Minister Rutte, who otherwise is well-known in the Netherlands for often travelling alone without a security detail, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reports.
According to the newspaper, the “spotters” are often used by organised criminal gangs to observe targets, where they go and who they interact with before a so-called “hitter” or hitman is dispatched to conduct a targetted attack.
The paper stated that it contacted several agencies including the National Prosecutor’s Office of the Public Prosecution Service, the Government Information Service (RVD) and the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security about potential threats to Prime Minister Rutte but none of the agencies would comment on the matter.
“We take that information very seriously,” a source told the newspaper Algemeen Dagblad which stated that insiders said Mr Rutte did not think the threats concrete enough to have visible security around him.
“He just wants to be able to appear on the street, and I understand that,” a source told the paper and added, “But still it was considered wise to cooperate. Because you can secure in a lot of different ways. Visible and invisible.”
Concerns over the safety of the Dutch leader come just months after veteran crime journalist Peter R de Vries was shot on the streets of Amsterdam in July.
Mr de Vries died just over a week after the shooting with speculation that the shooting had been a targetted hit due to the journalist’s relationship with Nabil B., a key witness in a criminal case involving Moroccan-Dutch alleged crime boss Ridouan Taghi known as the Marengo trial.
The alleged crime boss is the prime suspect in the trial, which involves 17 suspects in total who are thought to be connected to several murders and many other attempted murders.
The fatal shooting of Dutch lawyer Derk Wiersum in 2019 may also have links to the trial as he was also connected to Nabil B., as he served as the witnesses’ lawyer.
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