Earlier this week, Gazet Van Antwerpen wrote that the Emirates had delivered another drug baron, a man named Mohamed A .. This man is considered the right arm of another trafficker, Youssef Ben Azza, who currently lives in Morocco.
Another extradition is now added: that of Othman El Ballouti. The latter and two other suspects, Giorgi F. and Mathias A. are on board the plane transporting them to Melsbroek military airport.
Pour la Ministre de la Justice, Annelies Verlinden (CD&V), “The extradition of these criminals is […] A clear message that justice can also triumph in an international context.”
Othman El Ballouti was sentenced by default, in September 2024, to seven years in prison for the import of 840 kilos of cocaine via the port of Antwerp. His name is also associated with the file concerning a cargo of 11 tonnes seized in 2021 for which he was sentenced by the Antwerp Criminal Court to 20 years in prison and a fine of € 400,000. He was arrested in Dubai at the end of 2024 on the basis of information collected thanks to the hacking of the Sky ECC messaging, which revealed the existence of global drug traffickers networks, including dozens of Antwerp traffickers.
Othman El Ballouti is also the uncle of Firdaous, 11, who had been killed, touched by one of the bullets that had targeted his house in January 2023 in Merksem (Antwerp). Federal police and Antwerp prosecutor’s office does not give other information.
In 2021, Belgium signed an extradition agreement with the United Arab Emirates. Some of the key figures in drug trafficking were hidden in this country, because there was no extradition agreement with Belgium, the federal prosecutor’s office then explained.