TL;DR
- In July 2025, the
UAE extraditedOthman El Ballouti , dubbed the “Cocaine King,” to Belgium, together with two different high-profile criminals.
- El Ballouti was needed for orchestrating large-scale cocaine trafficking by the Port of Antwerp and was sanctioned by the U.S. in 2023.
- The extradition was carried out underneath the 2021 UAE-Belgium treaty, highlighting the UAE’s rising cooperation in worldwide legislation enforcement.
In a serious advance in worldwide anti-narcotics efforts, authorities within the United Arab Emirates have extradited Othman El Ballouti, one among Europe’s most sought-after drug traffickers, to Belgium. The 38-year-old Belgian-Moroccan nationwide, typically referred to by investigators because the “Cocaine King,” was transferred into Belgian custody in July 2025, a number of months after his arrest in Dubai in December 2024.His extradition was a part of a broader worldwide operation that additionally noticed the handover of two different high-profile suspects, Matthias Akyazili and Georgi Faes, in response to an announcement by the Dubai Media Workplace on Sunday. The transfer was made potential by a bilateral extradition settlement signed between the UAE and Belgium in 2021.El Ballouti, who was on Interpol and Europol’s most needed lists, is accused of orchestrating large-scale cocaine shipments into Europe by the Port of Antwerp, Belgium’s largest seaport and a serious entry level for medication from South America. His arrest was a part of a coordinated worldwide operation involving UAE legislation enforcement businesses and judicial cooperation our bodies, together with the Ministry of Justice’s Worldwide Cooperation Division, which oversees extradition requests.The UAE’s determination to approve his extradition marks a brand new part in El Ballouti’s prosecution and demonstrates the nation’s rising function in cross-border legislation enforcement collaboration. With formal extradition procedures accomplished, Belgian authorities are getting ready to take custody of a person lengthy thought-about central to Europe’s narcotics disaster.
The Arrest in Dubai and the Path to Extradition
Othman El Ballouti was arrested in Dubai in December 2024, after an Interpol Pink Discover was circulated internationally at Belgium’s request. He had evaded authorities for a number of years, working from overseas whereas allegedly managing a prison group chargeable for importing huge portions of cocaine into Europe.His arrest got here after months of surveillance and intelligence sharing between Belgian authorities and the UAE. As soon as positioned within the UAE, a focused operation was carried out by Dubai Police in coordination with the UAE Ministry of Justice, which later referred the case to the Dubai Public Prosecution for authorized proceedings associated to his extradition.El Ballouti is accused of controlling a drug trafficking community that smuggled commercial-scale portions of cocaine hid inside transport containers arriving from South America. These containers handed by Antwerp’s port, which recorded a file 116 tonnes of cocaine seizures in 2023 alone, a determine emblematic of the dimensions of the European cocaine commerce.His prison enterprise reportedly prolonged properly past Belgium. In 2023, the US Division of the Treasury’s Workplace of Overseas Property Management (OFAC) imposed sanctions on El Ballouti for operating an “worldwide prison group” concerned in drug trafficking and cash laundering. The sanctions additionally focused his youthful brother and one other shut affiliate, successfully freezing their US-based belongings and slicing them off from the worldwide monetary system.The US Treasury famous that El Ballouti’s community was chargeable for facilitating the motion of cocaine throughout a number of jurisdictions and laundering illicit proceeds by a posh net of worldwide channels. These sanctions considerably elevated stress on legislation enforcement worldwide to find and detain him.Tragically, El Ballouti’s identify has additionally been tied to violence in Antwerp, which has seen an increase in drug-related shootings linked to turf wars. In a single such incident, his 11-year-old niece was killed in a taking pictures, additional fueling public concern over the escalating drug conflict within the metropolis. Belgian media have since tied the occasion to feuds between rival prison organizations with connections to drug trafficking operations within the port.After his arrest in December 2024, Belgian authorities promptly initiated formal extradition proceedings underneath a bilateral treaty signed with the UAE in 2021 to strengthen cooperation in prison instances. In July 2025, UAE authorities accredited the request, and El Ballouti has since been extradited to Belgium, the place he’ll face prosecution for his alleged function in an unlimited worldwide drug trafficking community.
Understanding Extradition within the UAE: Legal guidelines, Procedures, and Worldwide Cooperation
The extradition of Othman El Ballouti from the UAE to Belgium has drawn consideration to the nation’s authorized mechanisms for dealing with worldwide prison cooperation. As a rising hub of worldwide commerce and transit, the UAE has developed a structured, legally strong framework for coping with extradition requests, each incoming and outgoing, in compliance with world norms. Extradition is a authorized course of wherein one nation formally surrenders a person to a different nation the place the particular person is needed, both for trial or to serve a sentence for a prison offense. This worldwide judicial cooperation helps be certain that people accused or convicted of significant crimes can not evade justice by crossing borders.
Authorized Framework Governing Extradition within the UAE
Extradition within the UAE is ruled by a mixture of home legal guidelines, bilateral and multilateral treaties, and worldwide cooperation mechanisms.
- Federal Regulation No. 39 of 2006 on Mutual Judicial Cooperation in Prison Issues
- Federal Decree Regulation No. 28 of 2023, which launched current amendments to strengthen the framework
- Bilateral Extradition Treaties with particular person international locations, together with Belgium
- Multilateral Agreements, corresponding to:
- The Riyadh Arab Conference on Judicial Cooperation (1983), signed by Arab states together with Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, and Yemen
- INTERPOL Membership, the UAE is one among 196 member international locations of INTERPOL and complies with worldwide alerts like Pink Notices
UAE-Belgium Extradition Settlement
In December 2021, the UAE and Belgium signed two key agreements:
- An Extradition Treaty
- A Mutual Authorized Help Treaty
These treaties present the authorized foundation for extraditing people needed in both nation and facilitate cooperation in prison investigations, proof sharing, and prosecution.
Extradition Course of within the UAE: Step-by-Step
The UAE follows a five-stage course of for dealing with extradition requests, making certain each authorized compliance and the safety of particular person rights. The method additionally permits for judicial evaluate and appeals.
1. Alert and Submission of Request
- The method sometimes begins with an Interpol Pink Discover or a direct extradition request from the international nation by way of diplomatic channels.
- The request should embrace:
- The person’s id
- Particulars of the alleged crime
- The authorized grounds for extradition
- Any supporting proof
2. Evaluation by UAE Authorities
- The UAE Ministry of Justice, the Public Prosecution, the Ministry of Inside, and the UAE Interpol authorities evaluate the request.
- They assess whether or not the extradition meets a number of circumstances:
- Is the particular person a UAE citizen?
- Does the offense qualify as extraditable underneath UAE legislation?
- Does the twin criminality precept apply (i.e., is the act additionally a criminal offense within the UAE)?
Observe: Whereas twin criminality is revered, the legislation permits extradition even when the weather or identify of the crime differ, so long as the core offense is punishable.
3. Judicial Evaluation by UAE Courts
- If the authorities approve the request, the case is referred to the UAE Court docket of Attraction, which holds a listening to to find out:
- Whether or not due course of is adopted
- If the person’s human rights can be in danger
- Whether or not the authorized system of the requesting nation is honest and simply
- If all formal and procedural circumstances are met
- The choice might be appealed to the Court docket of Cassation, the UAE’s highest judicial physique
4. Ultimate Ruling by the Ministry of Justice
- If the courts rule in favor of extradition, the Ministry of Justice points the ultimate determination.
- The ruling turns into binding and paves the way in which for the handover.
5. Switch and Extraction
- The person is formally handed over to the requesting nation’s authorities by way of diplomatic and legislation enforcement channels.
- Switch is coordinated securely and legally.
Grounds for Denying Extradition
Underneath Article 9 of the UAE Extradition Regulation, a number of particular authorized grounds can be utilized to refuse an extradition request:
- The particular person is a UAE nationwide (the UAE doesn’t extradite its residents however can prosecute them domestically for crimes dedicated overseas).
- The UAE has jurisdiction over the crime
- The offense is political in nature (besides terrorism, genocide, conflict crimes, or crimes towards the state)
- The offense is navy in nature
- The extradition is searched for persecution based mostly on race, faith, nationality, or political opinion
- The person is already being investigated or tried within the UAE for a similar offense
- The person has already been convicted or acquitted within the UAE
- The offense is time-barred underneath UAE legislation
- There’s a danger of torture, inhumane therapy, or disproportionate punishment within the requesting state
Basic Authorized Necessities for Extradition Requests
The UAE might settle for an extradition request if the next circumstances are met:
- The offense is punishable by not less than one yr of imprisonment underneath the requesting nation’s legislation
- If already convicted, the person will need to have not less than six months of their sentence remaining
- The act doesn’t have to be outlined identically underneath UAE legislation
- The identify or label of the offense doesn’t have to match precisely between each jurisdictions
UAE’s Rising Position in World Judicial Cooperation
The UAE has more and more established itself as a cooperative companion in combating transnational crime. Backed by a powerful authorized framework, a large community of bilateral treaties with international locations corresponding to Belgium, France, the UK, India, the US, China, Australia, Spain, Iran, Egypt, and others, and a dedication to judicial independence, the UAE is well-equipped to deal with complicated extradition instances. This strong system permits swift and lawful responses to worldwide prison threats, as demonstrated by the high-profile extradition of Othman El Ballouti.FAQs:
- Q Who’s Othman El Ballouti?
He’s a Belgian-Moroccan drug trafficker, nicknamed the “Cocaine King,” accused of smuggling massive portions of cocaine into Europe by way of Antwerp.
- Q. When and the place was he arrested?
He was arrested in Dubai in December 2024 after an Interpol Pink Discover was issued by Belgian authorities.
- Q. When was he extradited to Belgium?
El Ballouti was extradited from the UAE to Belgium in July 2025 following formal authorized proceedings.
- Q. What made this extradition potential?
A bilateral extradition treaty signed between the UAE and Belgium in 2021 allowed for his authorized handover after judicial and ministerial approvals.
- Q. What are the UAE’s extradition legal guidelines based mostly on?
They’re ruled by Federal Regulation No. 39 of 2006 (amended in 2023), worldwide treaties, and embrace circumstances corresponding to non-extradition of UAE nationals and human rights protections.
