Of Spanish and Moroccan nationality, Sami Bekal Bounouare had left Spain a few days before the attack. Aged 27, the 1.85m young man was born in Palma de Mallorca and speaks Dutch, Spanish, French, Darija and English. In criminal circles, he calls himself Colomo, Pacho, Pachito or Swilleh, reports The Spanish. The suspect had lived in the Netherlands since 2010 and would have links with the Mocro Maffia, the Moroccan mafia specializing in drug trafficking and organized crime in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Read: Attempted assassination of a senior official: the shadow of the Mocro Maffia takes shape
According to the Dutch authorities, Pacho resided mainly in Rotterdam and made stays in Schiedam and Hertogenbosch. He has disappeared from the radar since he fled Spain after planning the attack against Vidal-Quadras. It could be found in countries like Colombia, Brazil, Turkey, Spain and Qatar. Sami Bekal Bounouare is accused of being behind an assassination attempt against an Iranian activist last June in Haarlem, and of being involved in the assassination of Wisam Al-Albassi in Capelle aan den IJssel in 2021.
Read: The shadow of the Mocro Maffia in the attack against a Spanish politician
According to investigators, the criminal of Moroccan origin is the mastermind of the attack against Alejo Vidal-Quadras. For weeks, his alleged terrorist network would have analyzed the latter’s actions and actions, before taking action. Already seven people have been arrested as part of the investigation carried out by the National Court into this assassination attempt against the Spanish politician. An eighth person was arrested on Thursday. He would be one of the collaborators of Mehrez Ayari, the 37-year-old Franco-Tunisian hitman who allegedly shot Quadras, and arrested on June 19 in the Netherlands.
At the current stage, investigators favor the hypothesis according to which this attack was sponsored by Iran which would have entrusted its execution to the Mocro Maffia. Investigations are continuing to elucidate this matter.
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