“High-level” cocaine trafficker targeted by U.S. is arrested in Dubai Othman El Ballouti, who was sanctioned by the U.S. last year, was held over an international arrest warrant issued by Belgian authorities. 1H ago

An alleged drug trafficker needed in reference to a world drug smuggling operation via the Belgian port of Antwerp has been arrested, Dubai police stated Monday.

Othman El Ballouti, who was sanctioned by the U.S. final 12 months, was held over a world arrest warrant issued by Belgian authorities.

“El Ballouti has been handed over to Dubai Public Prosecution for authorized proceedings associated to extradition,” a police assertion stated.

It wasn’t instantly clear if El Ballouti had a lawyer.

El Ballouti, 37, was believed to be residing within the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven sheikhdom on the Arabian Peninsula additionally house to Abu Dhabi. He was sanctioned in 2023 by the U.S. Treasury which described him as “a high-level drug trafficker.”

“El Ballouti manages a world prison group that smuggles vital portions of cocaine through delivery containers via the port of Antwerp in Belgium for wider distribution all through Europe,” the Treasury Division stated on the time. “Othman El Ballouti’s cash laundering and narcotics provide chain networks are linked to companies primarily based within the Individuals’s Republic of China, in addition to South American cocaine suppliers.”

On the time of the sanctions being issued, the U.S. made some extent to checklist El Ballouti’s handle as a high-end house complicated in downtown Dubai, close to the Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest constructing.

With the UAE now heading the worldwide policing physique Interpol, the nation has confronted renewed questioning over its lax checks on cash laundering and reluctance to extradite suspects. That has solely elevated as Russian cash flows into the nation amid Moscow’s struggle on Ukraine.

In response, the UAE has made a number of excessive profile arrests to extradite suspects again to the West.

The arrest marks the newest in a string of main cocaine busts throughout the globe in current days. On Friday, Russia stated it had arrested suspected members of a Colombian cartel attempting to smuggle tens of tens of millions of {dollars} price of cocaine into Europe. In the meantime, authorities within the Dominican Republic confiscated almost 9.5 tons of cocaine from a banana cargo on the nation’s most essential seaport. 

The day earlier than that, Portuguese police said that they had dismantled “one of many largest” cocaine laboratories in Europe as a part of an operation that led to seven arrests and the seizure of some 1,500 kilograms of the drug.

In late November, police within the Balkans arrested 11 alleged members of a prison syndicate liable for smuggling cocaine from South America to Europe. Additionally final month, the Colombian Navy stated authorities from dozens of nations seized over 225 metric tons of cocaine in a six-week mega-operation the place they unearthed a brand new Pacific trafficking route from South America to Australia.

Agence France-Presse contributed to this report.