The Netherlands’ most wanted man, described by the authorities as the kingpin atop a large and lethal criminal organization, is so elusive that he has never been convicted of a major crime. In fact, the authorities were long unsure of where he was.

But on Monday, the police in Dubai closed in on a mansion in a wealthy neighborhood there and arrested the man, Ridouan Taghi, on international warrants on charges of murder and drug trafficking, and the Dutch authorities said on Thursday that he had been flown back to the Netherlands.

News of the arrest of Mr. Taghi, 41, was met with praise and jubilation in the Netherlands, where the accusations against him are well known, despite his efforts to keep a low profile. The Ministry of Justice and Security says that he leads a major cocaine smuggling operation and has had a hand in 11 killings.

“The political implications of the arrest are big,” said G.J. Alexander Knoops, a professor of the politics of international law at the University of Amsterdam. “It probably is one of the most important arrests for the law enforcement agencies in the Netherlands in the last couple of years.”