AKIPRESS.COM - Police in Dubai have arrested the suspected head of a cocaine trafficking gang described as the most wanted man in the Netherlands, The Guardian reports.

Ridouan Taghi, 41, who was wanted on international arrest warrants for murder and drug trafficking, was held at a house in the Gulf emirate on Monday.

Taghi , who was born in Morocco, gained international notoriety in September when a Dutch lawyer for a state witness in a case against him was shot dead near his home in Amsterdam.

The Dutch police chief, Erik Akerboom, said Taghi’s arrest was of “great importance for the Netherlands”.

Dubai police said Taghi entered the city through its airport using a passport and a visa with a fake identity.

They said he was living in a residential area in Dubai where he was not engaged in any criminal activity and had assistants from various nationalities