U.S. Freezes Assets of Antwerp Drug Kingpin Othman El Ballouti

The United States wants to freeze Othman’s assets and seize the assets of Younes "El Magico", his brother, and their accomplice Youssef B.A., alias "Benz". American companies (banks, credit card issuers, etc.), as well as foreign companies based in the country, are no longer authorized to conduct transactions with those of Othman, accused of money laundering, reports La Dernière Heure.

"The sanctions imposed by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the US Department of the Treasury on three Belgians are the result of fruitful collaboration between the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office, the federal judicial police of Antwerp and the American Drug Enforcement Administration," said the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office, welcoming the decision of the American authorities.

The Antwerp public prosecutor’s office and the federal police have been searching for Othman El B. for years, whose network is said to have imported 16 tons of cocaine through the port of Antwerp in less than a year. The man of Moroccan origin denies the facts, claiming he has never been convicted of cocaine trafficking.

In a recent video, a representative of Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada, the head of the Sinaloa cartel in Mexico, demands, in a threatening tone, that Othman El B. settle an old debt. "But you have to be serious. Debts are debts of honor. Men’s debts. It’s a man’s business, not a p*’s business," the man said in the video.