Former Moroccan MP and Brother Face Trial in Dutch "Ghost Villa" Drug Trafficking Case

The Breda court did not deliver its judgment on Friday due to the reappearance of Hassan C. (46 years old). This man known for his "ghost villa" is suspected of being involved in drug trafficking, along with two brothers and about ten other suspects from Roosendaal and its surroundings. From a tea room on the Molenstraat in Roosendaal, they were running two growshops in Etten-Leur and a cannabis drying facility in Sprundel, it was reported. Their drugs were transported to France.

Informed of these illicit activities, the police infiltrated the criminal milieu. Agents "invited a sister" of the "drug brothers" to a short vacation on the Costa del Sol in Spain. They managed to get her to spill the beans: she recounted that her brother Hassan was having a house built on the Robijndijk in Roosendaal with a swimming pool, sauna, and cinema, and that "a bathroom was covered in gold." This allowed the police to discover that it was in fact a dubious villa. Acquired by a Colombian woman in 2012 for more than 700,000 euros, with money from Morocco and the United Arab Emirates, this house became Hassan’s residence after the Colombian emigrated.

June 2015: the alleged gang was dismantled by the police. During a search of the villa, the agents discovered bathrooms covered in gold leaves. They came across a box containing 28 mobile phones, as well as a banknote counting machine that had counted nearly 14,000 banknotes in another house where Hassan usually resided. But Hassan is not the main suspect. It is rather his brother, the Roosendalois Said Chaou (60 years old), a former MP in Morocco, owner in the 1990s of the Galaxy coffeeshop in Roosendaal, and then director of a travel agency.

Arrested during an identity check in Rotterdam after 10 years on the run, Hassan Chaou appeared before the Breda court last Friday. He denied all the accusations. His ties with his brother Said have long since been severed, he said. According to him, his elder brother Said had nothing to do with drugs either. "No, he was only involved in politics in Morocco. He was dedicated to the Rif. All Moroccans know that." His lawyer requested an acquittal and immediate release, but was met with the court’s refusal. Hassan remains in prison.

In March, April, and May, a four-year prison sentence was requested against Said. According to the public prosecutor, Hassan should spend more than three years in prison. The justice system also intends to confiscate 1.3 million euros from him. A sum that would have been laundered through the Robijndijk villa in Roosendaal. The verdict is finally expected on October 7, 2025.