Moroccan Drug Lord’s Downfall: Tangier Arrest Exposes Antwerp-Dubai Cocaine Network

Tangier has become a safe haven for Antwerp drug criminals wanted by foreign police forces. Unlike his older brother Othman, Younes managed to flee to Morocco before the Dubai authorities could get their hands on him. Younes, like his older brother, has been convicted several times in Morocco for international cocaine trafficking. According to sources, the younger of the El Ballouti brothers was arrested for using a fake passport to discreetly leave the country.

Furthermore, the Dubai authorities are preparing to extradite another Antwerp drug criminal to Morocco. This is Faysal El Ballouti, aged 36, sentenced in 2020 by the Antwerp Court of Appeal to seven years in prison for the introduction of 1.3 tons of cocaine through the port of Antwerp. In 2019, investigators had located the criminal along with two accomplices in a warehouse on the Potaardestraat in Niel, after a report from the US Homeland Security services.

Faysal El Ballouti and his two accomplices Tijani T. and Mohamed E.J. were arrested while unloading the drugs in the warehouse. Searches carried out in the suspects’ homes in Ekeren, Anzegem and Antwerp led to the seizure of "several iPhones, many branded clothes and luxury items, including three Patek Philippe watches worth between 37,450 euros and 80,710 euros each."

The accused has tried to legally contest his extradition, but without much success. He was recently re-arrested by the Dubai police and is expected to be extradited to Belgium in the coming days.