Heir to the Dutch throne Princess Amalia has been placed under intense security after officials received a tip-off that she may be the target of a kidnapping plot.
The 18-year-old was due to move into shared student accommodation at Amsterdam University, where she had begun studying politics, psychology, law and economics earlier this month.
Officials had intercepted security warnings that raised fears that the teenager might be at the centre of “an attack” or “a kidnap attempt”.
Last year, security was stepped up around Prime Minister Mark Rutte over fears he was also a target.
Alleged Dutch crime lord Ridouan Taghi, who was arrested in Dubai in 2019, is facing trial over a number of murders in the Netherlands and has been accused by prosecutors of plotting a violent prison break as well as ordering killings and other criminal offences from his cell.
Mr Taghi, along with 16 others, is alleged to have been part of the crime group known as the “Mocro Mafia” and is accused of murder and attempted murder.
He was arrested in Dubai in 2019 after a raid on his luxury apartment and was sent to the Netherlands to face trial.
Currently, he is being held at the Extra Secure Institution in Vught, where military personnel have been drafted in to help guard him.
On Wednesday, he denied he was involved in a plot to harm the princess, claiming the allegations were “false and unsubstantiated”.
His lawyer, Inez Weski, stated Mr Taghi “emphatically” disputes the claims, saying he had made it clear that he has “no wish to harm Princess Amalia” and that he would “never endanger a child”.
On Tuesday, Princess Amalia accompanied her parents King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima to the official opening of parliament.
