A businessman from Belgium named Othman El Ballouti, who has been recognized as a drug trafficker, will be the focus of significant discoveries in this short narrative. If you are interested in learning about the events and individuals that are related to him, you are required to read all of my statements with great attention.
Othman El Ballouti: What made him become a drug trafficker?
The United States Treasury Department has referred to Othman El Ballouti as a “high-level drug trafficker” in its literature. The worldwide criminal organization that he is in command of is responsible for smuggling cocaine into Belgium via the port of Antwerp and then distributing it across Europe.
Additionally, Othamn’s younger brother, Younes El Ballouti, assists him in his profession. In the process of “laundering” criminal cash, firms that have their headquarters in the People’s Republic of China are used. The Belgian authorities are interested in them because of their role in the distribution of illegal drugs.
Since 2016, Othman El Ballouti, a businessman who has been referred to as one of the most prominent cocaine traffickers in Europe by Belgian newspapers, has been on the run from the police in Belgium. They have the impression that he is sheltering in Dubai. Othman El Ballouti is presently residing in the emirate, as shown by a real estate database that was just made public. This information was obtained from the database.
In response to the allegations that were made by Belgian media, Othman El Ballouti said that he did not run a significant cocaine import business out of the port of Antwerp, which is located in Belgium.
It was regularly mentioned in their reportage that he was one of the most powerful drug lords in the Low Countries and that he had links to competing gangs.
According to Gazet van Antwerpen, its sources claim that the total value of all of his properties is at least one hundred million euros, which is equivalent to 118 million dollars.
It has been said by Belgian media that Othman El Ballouti runs a substantial cocaine import business out of the port of Antwerp in Belgium. However, El Ballouti takes issue with this assertion. In their coverage, he is regularly referred to as one of the most powerful drug lords in the Low Countries, having links to many organizations that compete with him.
It has been reported by Gazet van Antwerpen that several sources have calculated that his overall assets are worth at least 100 million euros, which is equivalent to 118 million dollars.
During the year 2016, he was taken into custody at the Brussels airport, as reported by Gazet van Antwerpen. This occurred when the police connected the money that he had donated to a Muslim school in Antwerp to “illegal sources.” It was said in the report that El Ballouti fled the country after being given freedom during their probationary period.
The top investigator of the narcotics section of the Federal Police of Antwerp said that he was last seen in Dubai. Dubai was the location of his last known whereabouts.
Both Belgium and the Netherlands have been experiencing drug distribution conflicts between Dutch-Moroccan gangs and Belgian gangs since the year 2012. Over the last several years, there have been more than twenty deadly shootings in the cities of Antwerp and Amsterdam, which are the two main drug ports in Western Europe.
For the time being, the Othman El Ballouti dynasty has not been able to successfully dodge the consequences of these power struggles.
Younes, also known as “El Magico” El Ballouti, the younger brother of El Ballouti, was abducted in 2016 when he was leaving a gym and walking along a street in Antwerp. The incident occurred in the year 2016.
According to Gazet van Antwerpen, Othman El Ballouti was urged to pay the kidnappers tens of millions of euros in return for the release of his brother. This information was supposedly provided by reports.
Following that, they moved Younes to France, where he was able to escape after five weeks and seek aid from the authorities in the area.
El Ballouti acknowledged to the authorities that the Dutch drug kingpin Houssine Ait Soussan was the one who was responsible for organizing the operation. There were allegations that Ait Soussan wanted to get vengeance on El Ballouti since El Ballouti had shut off his access to the Antwerp cocaine smuggling route.
Dutch law enforcement officials captured four guys from Paris in 2017 and then transferred them to Belgium to extradite them for the abduction. Subsequently, two other individuals were also involved in the abduction of Abdelkader Bouker, who was a drug lord in Antwerp and was known as “The Jew.”
Using C4ADS, the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project was able to get access to a database that included information on El Ballouti’s property and domicile. This database was prepared by many real estate professionals and was obtained by the organization. His name is associated with eleven properties in Dubai, which have a combined market worth of around $8.5 million in the United States.
in what manner are they located? These items are now worth around 244,000 dollars apiece.
In addition, Othman El Ballouti is the owner of a piece of real estate in the Address Residence Sky View, which is a luxurious hotel and apartment structure that is now under construction in Dubai and was meant to be completed the previous year.
The two-tower complex is one of its sort in terms of design, and it has a restaurant, a ballroom, and an infinity pool as part of its amenities. According to the current market, flats in this luxurious structure of El Ballouti’s size may be purchased for around $1.4 million.
Othman El Ballouti: What caused cocaine to enter Europe via Belgium?
Antwerp’s port has a dubious claim to fame since it is the principal entry point for cocaine into Europe by traffickers. Critics, on the other hand, point out that Belgium’s central government is inefficient and that its law enforcement system is split up into many different parts. Is there any chance that Belgium will ever emerge victorious in the drug war?
Not quite a few hours before a joint Belgian-Dutch proclamation that 2022 was once again a record-setting year for cocaine seizures in the port of Antwerp, a woman who was suspected of being a drug lord’s niece passed away in Antwerp while she was sleeping.
This evening, in the tranquil area of Nieuwdreef, unidentified gunmen opened fire into a garage, resulting in the death of an 11-year-old girl, as reported by the police and the national media.
Belgium charges Othman el Ballouti, a man from Dubai who is 36 years old, of smuggling enormous quantities of cocaine via the port of Antwerp. She was the niece of El Ballouti. Thus far, the United Arab Emirates has not granted any petitions for extradition.
The death of the young girl was the most recent of more than fifty shootings, bombings, and other attacks that have occurred in Antwerp since August. These attacks have occurred as cartels that control the majority of this unprecedented cocaine business began campaigns of violence and intimidation against one another to gain control of the industry, which is worth multiple billions of euros.
An unprecedented quantity of 110 metric tons of cocaine was discovered in the year 2022 at Antwerp, which is the largest physical port in Europe. His Dutch equivalents were revealed by Kristian Vanderwaeren, who is the head of customs for Belgium. Before this, Vanderwaeren had said that a ten-ton explosion at the end of the year would bring about a “White Christmas” in Antwerp. This declaration was made last month.
Othman El Ballouti, who was in Dubai at the time of his niece’s death, stated the event in which he denied any participation in drug trafficking and vowed that his family would not respond violently. The message was published after the tragic event.
According to Othman El Ballouti’s enigmatic response, they would provide an answer, but not in the manner that the mayor of Antwerp believes.
Using information obtained through a hack of Sky ECC encrypted phones in 2020 by government authorities in Belgium, the Netherlands, and France, Othman El Ballouti and Nordin al Hajjoui, a second trafficker hiding in Dubai, have been charged in Belgium with transporting tons of cocaine through Antwerp. The charges were brought about as a result of the information obtained.
This is because the hundreds of cases that were created from the evidence provided by the Sky ECC were largely responsible for the record-breaking cocaine seizures that occurred in 2021. According to Belgian authorities, the rise in 2022 numbers demonstrates that the northern ports continue to be the principal point of entry for Europe.
Under the official, “probably half of the cocaine in Europe right now is coming through Antwerp, Rotterdam, or nearby ports controlled by the same cartels.”
“There is more tension in the drug environment in Antwerp because there is a lot of money and power at stake there.”
At least a dozen shots have been fired into the premises of a cartel that is situated in Antwerp. Several gunshots and explosions have taken place in Antwerp, most of which were carried out to cause fear rather than harm anybody. The tragic exception was the victimization of Othman El Ballouti’s niece, who was shot.
Othman El Ballouti: Treasury-sanctioned drug trafficker
Eliminating Belgian drug trafficking:
Three individuals with Belgian citizenship were sanctioned by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OFAC). These individuals were Othman El Ballouti, a high-level drug trafficker, his younger brother Younes El Ballouti, and his associate Youssef Ben Azza. Othman El Ballouti is in charge of a worldwide criminal business that smuggles containers via the port of Antwerp in Belgium. This is done to sell cocaine in big quantities throughout Europe.
In February 2022, OFAC targeted Ecuadorian national Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan, who was related to Othman El Ballouti’s networks of money laundering and narcotics supply chain. The People’s Republic of China (PRC) and South American cocaine traffickers are also tied to these networks. Sanchez Farfan was first brought into jail in Colombia in February of this year.
It is Younes El Ballouti who oversees the drug trafficking enterprise that is owned and operated by his brother. For his role in the distribution of a large quantity of cocaine, Younes El Ballouti was sentenced to eight years of jail in absentia in Belgium in January of 2023.
With the help of Othman El Ballouti, Youssef Ben Azza, who has been associated with the drug trade for more than 10 years, establishes businesses that give the impression of being legitimate but are, in reality, a front for the organization’s participation in criminal operations.
These three individuals, Othman El Ballouti, Younes El Ballouti, and Youssef Ben Azza, are now being sought by the Belgian police for their involvement in the trafficking of cocaine. To escape being prosecuted, it is believed that they are now staying in Dubai, which is located in the United Arab Emirates.
As a result of their participation in, or attempted participation in, operations or operations that have physically contributed to, or constitute a significant danger of considerably leading to, the international growth of illegal narcotics or their means of manufacturing, they were designated by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OFAC) under Executive Order [EO] 14059.
Conclusion
Intrigue, criminality, and international law enforcement characterize Othman El Ballouti. He is suspected of running a massive drug trafficking network that routes cocaine from Antwerp, Belgium, into Europe. Although he denies wrongdoing, his relationship with drug dealers and possession of considerable assets continue to link him to the enterprise.
Violence and volatility in Antwerp and Amsterdam, where the drug trade is important, have resulted from Dutch-Moroccan and Belgian gang fighting. Othman El Ballouti’s brother Younes was abducted in retribution.
The fractured law enforcement system and Antwerp’s strategic role as a cocaine gateway have impeded Belgium’s drug traffickingfighting efforts. Trade continues despite record seizures and international collaboration because of the huge revenues at risk.
United States Treasury Department’s classification of Othman El Ballouti as a high-level narcotics trafficker highlights the charges against him. Belgian authorities have targeted him, his brother Younes, and Youssef Ben Azza.
Whether Othman El Ballouti’s story ends is unclear. Will he be caught and held or continue evading police from Dubai? This story’s outcome is unknown, but Europe’s drug war is far from ended.
