Moroccan mafia, known as Mocro Maffia, is reputed for being one of the most violent gangs in the Netherlands. It took over the streets of Amsterdam, forcibly recruiting young Moroccans who ended up being victims and criminals at the same time. Although cannabis coffee shops are tolerated by the public authorities in the Netherlands, an «underground narcotic trafficking war» is tearing the country apart. Indeed, criminal networks in the country recruit youngsters to «do their dirty work», said El Pais. Merely 16 year-old, these young people can kill a person for only 5,000 Euros. They receive «reduced» sentences and then their «godfathers» grant them in exchange the «luxurious cars and homes» after stepping out of prison. A source from the Amsterdam police said that most of these young men are Dutch, Turkish, Albanian, Moroccan or from the West Indies. For Ahmed Marcouch, a former Dutch MP and the current mayor of Arnhem, «despite their diversity, the most active members of these gangs are of Moroccan descent». Born in Morocco, the politician was also a police officer in the Netherlands. He believes that a different approach should be implemented to solve this problem : «In order to combat them, we need policemen with a greater ethnic diversity, who would understand their language and gain their confidence. However, the local police forces are predominantly white.» «Apart from organized crime, account settling is done in broad daylight», added the mayor. In their cars, these inexperienced hired killers use AK-47 rifles to target innocent people, who get injured and sometimes even killed. Families are outdated and the police too Jan Struijs, president of the police union, said that this topic has always been a taboo. In a report he presented to the government, he called for backups, nearly 2,000 policemen to fight against organized crime. The report was based on a survey that questioned 400 police officials. Jan Struijs stated that «the country has all the characteristics of a narco-state». These youths «usually belong to broken families, and their role models are those driving fancy cars, who claim that are helping them using the money they have,» he added. The same approach was defended by Dutch-Moroccan rapper Safoan Mokhtari, who said that he has escaped with the support of his family. «Social control and respect for parents are dead,» said Mokhtari, who compares the social climate in the country to that of the Wild West. The artist works as a social assistant, to accompany young Moroccan-Dutch people. The Dutch police are currently investigating another murder, namely that of Nabil B., brother of Reduan B., mysteriously killed at the end of March at his business. Prior to his death, he had concluded an agreement with the police to provide key information on the «Mocro Maffia», the Moroccan mafia. Since then, his whole family has been placed under police protection.
