Two Fratelli Italian restaurants in Leidschendam and Voorburg closed unexpectedly this week after their owners were convicted of drug trafficking.
The district court sentenced Aziz A.
to six years and six months in prison, and his son Ayoub Aarabe to six years for cocaine trafficking and organizing international drug shipments.
The court also ordered the pair to repay 500,000 euros in criminal proceeds, noting that the restaurants served as meeting hubs for criminal contacts.
Some regional branches under different ownership remain unaffected. A spokesperson for a former family-linked location confirmed the split from the founders.
“The business has been sold, we no longer have anything to do with that family,” said the manager in Den Haag.
Co-owner Ayoub Aarabe expressed strong disagreement with the ruling and confirmed an appeal has been filed.
He described the decision as an “unfathomable ruling” in an interview with Voorburgs Dagblad.
“I am in a very bad movie,” said Aarabe.
He maintained his innocence and said they expected acquittal based on how the trial progressed. “We had to wait three years for this hearing.
During the trial, I actually felt that things were going well and I was convinced that we would be acquitted.
Then you suddenly get a conviction like this. It is unbelievable,” he said.
Aarabe emphasized the family’s decades of entrepreneurship. “We are not just going to put forty years of our family's entrepreneurship at stake, are we?
That makes no sense. We have always been hard-working entrepreneurs.”
He also dismissed rumors and media inaccuracies. “All kinds of Wild West stories are going around now.
That is pure nonsense. Moreover, many factual inaccuracies have appeared in the media.”
Despite the convictions, the family said they received support from regular customers. “That does us an awful lot of good.
We notice that many people support us and maintain confidence in our story. That gives us the strength to keep going,” said Aarabe.
The defense is focusing on overturning the sentences on appeal. “We continue to believe in a good outcome.
I am convinced that we will be acquitted on appeal,” he said.
The Voorburg establishment has been sold to new owners and is set to reopen as Marco Polo.
The departing management thanked the community for “the trust, the fun, and the support over the years” in a social media statement.
The team looks back at more than four decades of operations with “a warm feeling” as the legal process moves to the court of appeal.
