The former leader of a criminal organization associated with a drive-by shooting that critically injured a nine-year-old girl is awaiting a decision on his potential release from prison. Huseyin Baybasin, 69, known as Europe’s Pablo Escobar, was sentenced to life imprisonment in the Netherlands for involvement in homicides and drug trafficking. The Dutch newspaper Trouw has reported that a ruling on his release will be made before March.
If released, Baybasin will not be allowed to stay in the Netherlands or return to Turkey, his home country. His legal team has indicated that another European nation has agreed to accept him, although they have not disclosed the specific country.
Baybasin orchestrated the smuggling of large quantities of heroin while leading the Hackney Bombers criminal group. Their clashes with rival gangs, particularly the Tottenham Turks, have resulted in numerous violent incidents, including multiple murders and kidnappings. One tragic event was the shooting of a young girl outside a restaurant in East London last year.
Recently, a court in Utrecht denied Baybasin’s request for a temporary identification document, citing his unlawful residence status in the Netherlands since 1998. His lack of transparency regarding his post-release plans has also hindered his eligibility for unaccompanied leave from prison.
Baybasin, who has maintained his innocence throughout, has been pushing for his release, claiming that he has been unjustly detained due to external pressures, especially from Turkish authorities. In 2023, after serving 25 years behind bars, he was approved by the Advisory Board for Life Sentenced Prisoners to start a reintegration program into society.
A final decision on his potential pardon is expected by March, contingent on his progress in the reintegration program over the past few years, as per Trouw.
During its peak under Baybasin’s leadership alongside his brothers, the Hackney Bombers, also known as the Bombacilar, gained notoriety for their criminal activities. While Huseyin was arrested in the Netherlands, his brother Abdullah relocated to the UK in 1997. The third brother, Mehmet, collaborated with Liverpool criminal groups to import large quantities of cocaine from South America to the UK. Mehmet is currently serving a 30-year sentence in Whitemoor prison for attempting to smuggle 40 tons of cocaine into the country in 2011.
Pablo Escobar, one of the most powerful drug lords in the 1980s, controlled the Medellin cartel in Colombia, responsible for a significant portion of the cocaine trafficking to the United States.
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