Suspicious commando: "Terrible and dangerous that I am wrongly linked to Taghi"
August 26, 2023

Sil A. (44), the commando who is suspected of arms and drug trafficking, says in an interview with Het Parool that he finds it 'terrible and dangerous' that he is 'wrongly linked to Ridouan Taghi by the judiciary'.

Elite unit
For many years Sil A. was a member of an elite unit within the elite troops of the Commando Corps (KCT): the 102 Company. At Defense, the sergeant major tested weapons and communication systems. In February 2022 he was arrested on suspicion of arms and drug trafficking. A. is now free, but must report to the police every week.

"Dream of Me"
The Public Prosecution Service suspects Sil A. of trading in 250 assault rifles, 250 pistols and 570 machine guns or parts thereof. A. says to Het Parool that he is surprised about the suspicion. 'Where did that come from?! A company in the Netherlands legitimately trades in military equipment and weapons. It is run by former civil servants who only do business with governments or recognized companies. I was visiting there with a Surinamese friend, because I was interested in equipment they could supply for a training center I was working on in Suriname. That was a dream of mine, as is generally known to all relevant authorities in the Netherlands.'

'No arms traded'
According to A., someone from the Dutch company asked whether the Surinamese government could be interested in certain second-hand weapons from the Dutch defense. 'Suriname was asked that question. They had no resources, so that was it. There is demonstrably no arms traded, as confirmed by that company.'

Sky ECC
In addition to arms trade, A. is also suspected by the judiciary of involvement in the smuggling of 260 kilos of cocaine. “They claim I used a Sky ECC account that reported cocaine trafficking. I told them: that's not me," says Sil A.

Childhood friend
A. has been friends with Surinamese Dutchman Gregory F. since his youth. He was arrested in 2021 for drug trafficking and was sentenced to nine years in prison in March this year for cocaine transport. About Gregory F. A. says: 'He is a good childhood friend. I have always kept in touch with him. One year a little more, the next year a little less. I know him through people in South Rotterdam, where I grew up. I trust him blindly.'

"don't know that man"
F. is seen by the judiciary as a contact of Taghi. Because of that link, Sil A. was also quickly associated with Taghi by the judiciary. Something that really bothers A.
'Naturally! I have no friends to be ashamed of. If Taghi had been a friend or acquaintance of mine, I would have just said so, but I don't know that man. I didn't know who he was or what he did until the whole of the Netherlands heard about him. Suddenly the government and the media linked me to him. The only time I had heard about him in the context of my work was 9 to 10 months before he was apprehended in Dubai (late 2019).'

Without any evidence
Sil A. says about the link that, according to the Public Prosecution Service, exists between Gregory F. and Taghi: 'Whether or not they have a link, I really do not know and I do not find it relevant. The question is how I was linked to Taghi through Gregory F. without any evidence. I'm not in any of their files. Did the Public Prosecution Service and the media already influence public opinion without investigating anything? It is terrible that I have been unjustly linked to him, because all his enemies automatically become my enemies and, much worse, enemies of my family.'

On November 1, the substantive hearing will take place in the criminal case against A. In addition, he has been called up by Taghi in the Marengo trial to testify against the judiciary.