One of Europe’s most wanted drug lords on run after Spanish court grants bail

Intercepted communications between members of Dutch-Moroccan gangs had mentioned her name, and that of Mark Rutte, the prime minister, forcing her to ditch plans to live in student accommodation in Amsterdam while studying for her degree.

The threat to Amalia had not disappeared but she was able to live and study in the Netherlands again, thanks to unspecified “measures”, royal sources told state broadcaster NOS earlier this month.

After his arrest over the purchase of 172 Spanish properties worth £42.9 million, Dutch authorities filed an extradition request for Bouyakhrichan, 46.

The drug lord is nicknamed “Taxi” and has been hunted by Interpol for five years. He is suspected of leading a cocaine smuggling operation that stretches across Europe and involvement in a bloody turf war that has led to deaths in Belgium, the Netherlands, Spain and Morocco.

The extradition request was rejected by a Spanish court, which said Bouyakhrichan should face the money laundering charges in Spain first.