In 2005, El Fahtni and his wife Soumaya Sahla were arrested in the Netherlands for possessing a loaded machine gun, for which Sahla received a nine-month sentence and El Fahtni five years.[3] Prosecutors sought a 12-year sentence for El Fahtni's suspected involvement in the "Piranha terrorism plot" against politicians and the Dutch Secret Service, AIVD.[4] On 1 December 2006, he was sentenced to four years imprisonment, while co-conspirators Mohammed Chentouf also received four years and Samir Azzouz eight years.[citation needed]