The suspected shooter in the assassination attempt on a retired conservative Spanish politician has been arrested in Holland, Spanish media report.
Mehrez Ayari, 37, a Frenchman of Tunisian origin, is believed to have shot Alejo Vidal-Quadras, a former politician with both the center-right Partido Popular and then the national conservative VOX, in Madrid on November 9, 2023. The arrest took place two weeks ago in Haarlem following cooperation between Spanish, Dutch, and French police. His is the seventh arrest in the case of the attempted murder of Vidal-Quadras, who fortunately survived the gunshot wounds.
Police are reportedly still tracking down others they believe were involved in the plot. They also suspect that Ayari was hired to kill Vidal-Quadras by people connected with the Iranian government, a possibility that Vidal-Quadras has suggested himself since he had actively denounced the Iranian regime during his political career.
Ayari was in possession of a gun at the time of his arrest. Police believe he was on his way to commit another politically motivated crime, likely another assassination, according to sources consulted by ABC.
Ayari was identified as the likely hitman in the murder attempt through security camera footage of the area near the site of the shooting, which occurred outside the home of the victim. The footage showed the suspect in the area in the days before the shooting. His face was uncovered in the footage taken before the actual assassination attempt, although he carried out the shooting from a motorcycle while wearing a helmet.
French police had been on Ayari’s trail for a drug trafficking-related murder they believe he committed in 2022 and so were happy to cooperate with Spanish police on the case. Ayari is a member of the Mocro Maffia, one of the most powerful criminal organizations in Europe, dedicated primarily to drug trafficking. The Mocro Maffia formed in Rotterdam in the 1980s composed of Dutch citizens of Moroccan descent. Its scope has expanded to Belgium, and it now has connections with the drug cartels in South America and Northern Africa. Besides drug trafficking, the mafia is responsible for threats against the Dutch Princess Amalia and former Dutch prime minister Mark Rutte that have caused both to be placed under high-security protection. It is also responsible for the murder of Dutch investigative journalist Peter R. de Vries.
This arrest will likely not be the last in the case, as police have uncovered a ring of mafia members involved in the plot against the politician.
