Wanted Belgian drug lord arrested in Dubai

One of Belgium’s most wanted international drug traffickers, Othman El Ballouti, has been arrested in Dubai, a judiciary source said on Tuesday, adding that Brussels would seek his extradition.

El Ballouti has been accused of running a major drug smuggling ring in the Belgian port of Antwerp – one of Europe’s main drug gateways – and is the target of US sanctions.

“We obtained his arrest, we will now see if we can get his extradition,” the Belgian source said.

Belgium and the United Arab Emirates signed an extradition agreement in 2021.

“There are several cases for which Belgium is requesting his extradition,” the source said of El Ballouti – a known figure in Belgium’s criminal underworld whose 11-year-old niece was reportedly killed in a shooting in Antwerp last year.

Last year, he was hit by US Treasury sanctions for allegedly running an “international criminal organisation” and money laundering.

El Ballouti’s crime ring “smuggles significant quantities of cocaine via shipping containers through the Port of Antwerp in Belgium for wider distribution throughout Europe,” the US Treasury said.

El Ballouti’s younger brother and an associate were also sanctioned.

Antwerp’s port is one of the major gateways for drugs smuggled from South America to the European market, and busts in and around the vast facility occur frequently.

Cocaine seizures there hit a record 116 tons last year.