Belgian Drug Lord "Mou" Faces Extradition from Colombia for Cocaine Trafficking

– bySylvanus@Bladi · 2 min read
Belgian Drug Lord "Mou" Faces Extradition from Colombia for Cocaine Trafficking

Belgium is requesting the extradition of the Belgian-Moroccan, Namoussi Mounir alias "Mou", arrested at the end of February in Barranquilla as part of an international investigation into cocaine trafficking involving Eastern European cartels. He faces a heavy prison sentence if extradited to the European country.

Five days after the announcement by the director general of the Colombian national police of the arrest of Namoussi Mounir alias "Mou" via social networks on March 1, the Belgian Ministry of Justice has officially requested the extradition of the drug baron to Belgium, where he faces a seven-year prison sentence.

"We will indeed request extradition, as he was convicted in absentia in our country," Anna Degraen of the Limburg prosecutor’s office told la VRT. Since this is an extradition to a country outside Europe, a whole procedure must first take place."

In Tongres (Belgium), "Mou" had been sentenced in 2021 for orchestrating cocaine shipments between Colombia and Rotterdam and was the subject of an Interpol red notice, indicating an international arrest warrant issued by a judge in Limburg.

According to the Colombian authorities, Namoussi played a central role in an international criminal network, linking Eastern European cartels to Latin American syndicates, including the notorious "Clan del Golfo" from Mexico. "The suspect used very powerful magnetic metal boxes to smuggle between 270 and 300 kilograms of cocaine per week, attaching them to cargo ships at sea," said Carlos Fernando Triana Beltrán, director general of the Colombian police. The drugs were intercepted before reaching the ports of Rotterdam and Antwerp.