Naoufal Fassih, also known as Buik (Dutch for "belly"), is a Dutch criminal of Moroccan origins. He has been at the centre of a longrunning feud between two Dutch crime gangs.

Criminal background

He has criminal links to Spain, Ireland and Morocco.

Feud

In March 2012 customs seized 200 to 400 kg of

cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

. The seizure was not announced, leading the gang in question to think they had been ripped off by rival criminals. Fassih was associated with Gwenette Martha, who was assassinated in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

in May 2014 when 80 rounds were fired at him as he left a kebab shop. Fassih was allegedly present at another assassination, that of Samir Bouyakhrichan, in Benahavis, near

Marbella Marbella ( , , ) is a city and municipality in southern Spain, belonging to the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is part of the Costa del Sol and is the headquarters of the Association of Municipalities of the r ...

in August 2014. Dutch police believe that he was there with five others. Bouyakhrichan was associated with another criminal called Danny Kuiters (aka Danny Daimler). One of Kuiter's enforcers was Peter Raap. On 4 November 2015 Dutch police bugging a car heard Wafaa Balfallah, Fassih's girlfriend, counting out €8,000 in €500 notes and giving the cash to a man in

Eindhoven Eindhoven () is a city and municipality in the Netherlands, located in the southern province of North Brabant of which it is its largest. With a population of 238,326 on 1 January 2022,Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, from where she contacted Fassih. The following day an attempt was made to murder Peter Raap near

. Forty shots were fired and the victim was hit seven times, though he survived. He was sitting in his car on the outskirs of Amsterdam beside a canal when the attack happened. He managed to climb out of the car and conceal himself in the canal. A witness got the number of the assailants car and Dutch police arrested three men. Dutch police found a

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on one of the three where the contact details for Fassih were stored under "Buik".

Arrest in Dublin

In April 2016 Gardaí were executing a search warrant on an apartment in

Baggot Street Baggot Street () is a street in Dublin, Ireland. Location The street runs from Merrion Row (near St. Stephen's Green) to the northwestern end of Pembroke Road. It crosses the Grand Canal near Haddington Road. It is divided into two sections: ...

that they believe belonged to the

Kinahan gang The Kinahan Organised Crime Group (KOCG), also known as the Kinahan Cartel, is a major Irish transnational organised crime syndicate alleged to be the most powerful in Ireland and one of the largest organised crime groups in the world. It is als ...

when Fassih answered the door. Gardaí did not know who he was, though they suspected he was connected to organised crime. Gardaí found a fake Dutch passport, a fake Belgian ID card, three designer watches worth up to €90,000, phones, memory sticks, €12,825 in cash and £300 in sterling. He was wearing €800

trainers Sneakers (also called trainers, athletic shoes, tennis shoes, gym shoes, kicks, sport shoes, flats, running shoes, or runners) are shoes primarily designed for sports or other forms of physical exercise, but which are now also widely used f ...

. He told them he was Omar Ghazouani. He was identified when his fingerprints were sent to

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization (ICPO; french: link=no, Organisation internationale de police criminelle), commonly known as Interpol ( , ), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and cri ...

. Two arrest warrants were sent - one for a fight on a Dutch street and money-laundering in the Netherlands, the second for money-laundering relating to the cash found in the apartment in Dublin with him. Messages on the phone from him criticised the gang for their failure to kill Raap. Gardaí described him as being easy to deal with when in custody. When a third warrant, alleging complicity in the attempt on Peter Raap, he became agitated.

Convictions

He was jailed in April 2018 for 18 years for his part in the attempt on the life of Peter Raap. He was the sixth person to be convicted for a role in the crime, others having received sentences from 17 to 20 years. He was convicted because he had issued instructions to kill Raap. He was also convicted of involvement with the murder of

Ali Motamed Mohammad-Reza Kolahi ( fa, محمدرضا کلاهی) (1958–15 December 2015) was a member of the People's Mujahedin of Iran (MEK) who, according to Iranian authorities, was suspected of planting a bomb at the headquarters of the Islamic Republ ...

. He subcontracted the murder to hitmen in the Netherlands. Evidence seized from

Ennetcom Ennetcom was a Netherlands based communications network and service provider. The company was based in the Netherlands as were most of its customers, but most of the company servers were based in Canada. Danny Manupassa, the company owner, was ar ...

led to him being convicted of one charge of murder and one of attempted murder. Emails revealed that €130,000 was offered for the murder of Motamed, though the identity of whoever offered the money has never been established.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fassih, Naoufal Living people 21st-century Dutch criminals People convicted of attempted murder Dutch people of Moroccan descent Dutch gangsters Moroccan gangsters Mocro Maffia Year of birth missing (living people)