A legal case in Antwerp concerns the involvement of members of the El Ballouti family, of Moroccan origin, in a cocaine importation through the port. Three brothers, Othman, Younes and Nordin, are linked to this case, which has recent developments including an arrest, a fugitive, and an appeal procedure.
Sentenced in absentia to fifteen years in prison on Wednesday in Besançon for a Kalashnikov shooting that seriously injured two men in June 2023, Sahbi El Asraoui, 26, is still on the run in Morocco. His 20-year-old accomplice was sentenced to seven years.
Sahbi El Asraoui, 26, wanted in France for a prison sentence and several serious acts of violence, would currently be free. His arrest by Interpol in Marrakech in January was mentioned, as well as a possible extradition to France.
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.
Morocco has heard the plea of international human rights organizations. The kingdom has released the Uyghur activist Yidiresi Aishan, also known as Idris Hasan, arrested at Casablanca airport and then imprisoned for three years in Tiflet, and whose extradition China had requested.
On Friday, the authorities of the United Arab Emirates handed over to the Moroccan authorities the municipal elected official and member of the Fès City Council, Sara Khaddar, who had been arrested by border police at Dubai airport after arriving from Turkey. She was the subject of an international arrest warrant and had been listed in Interpol’s database, pursuant to a warrant issued by the National Brigade of Judicial Police (BNPJ).
French rapper Maes was arrested on January 22 in Morocco, where he had taken refuge after fleeing Dubai. This arrest follows an international arrest warrant issued by the French justice system in October 2023.
An extradition agreement has been concluded with Morocco to hand over to France Félix Bingui alias "the Cat", one of the biggest drug traffickers in Marseille, arrested in March 2024 in Casablanca. Former French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin, the new Keeper of the Seals, thanks Rabat.
The Spanish authorities handed over on Wednesday to Germany the alleged Moroccan spy Youssef El Assrouti, suspected of investigating Rif exiles in Germany.
Wanted since March 8, 2023, when he had fled his trial for attempted murder in Besançon, and also suspected of murder, Sahbi E., a 26-year-old man, was arrested on Friday in Marrakech, Morocco. An extradition procedure to France is underway.
Fouad L., a 34-year-old man from Morocco, is the main suspect in the murder of Barbara, a 24-year-old woman found dead in December in her studio in Avignon. Arrested in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, he should soon be extradited to France where he will be tried.
Alleged drug traffickers have been apprehended in Morocco and then extradited to the United States, announced the office of the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) last Wednesday.