International drugs trafficker arrested in Brussels after five years on the run
Mahdi Oumouzaa, sentenced to seven years' imprisonment for drug trafficking, was arrested on Wednesday in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean after evading extradition in Dubai.
End of the fugitive's escape for a narcotics smuggler sought across Europe
Mahdi Oumouzaa, 42 years old, was arrested on Wednesday, 11 November in an apartment in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean, Belgium, ending five years on the run. According to Actu17, the convicted man had been listed since 2025 on the national list of the most-wanted fugitives established by the OFAST. The prosecutors' offices in Dijon and Brussels announced the arrest on Friday in the late afternoon.
The man had been sentenced in absentia in 2022 by the criminal court of Dijon to seven years' imprisonment for drug trafficking, money laundering of proceeds from trafficking, and participation in an organised criminal group. He had been sought since 2021 for his involvement in a major international drugs trafficking operation. During his escape, he had left France and his international movements had complicated the search efforts.
A first arrest without extradition
Oumouzaa had been arrested for the first time in Dubai in execution of an arrest warrant issued by the investigating judge. However, extradition to France could not be completed, according to the magistrates. This situation had led the authorities to intensify mobilisation after his registration on the OFAST list. The investigators had to deploy exceptional resources, particularly due to the fugitive's mobility and obstacles encountered during investigations.
Franco-Belgian cooperation was decisive
The organised and specialised crime division (DCOS) in Dijon worked with the arrest and intervention brigade (BRI) of Dijon, the national fugitive search brigade (BNRF) and the national BRI, under the direction of the Dijon prosecutors' office. The international security cooperation directorate (DCIS) mobilised its liaison officers to coordinate operations with several countries, notably Belgium.
In early November 2026, investigations concentrated the search on the Brussels region. The FAST Belgium unit (Fugitive Active Search Team) of the Belgian federal police then deployed significant operational resources under the authority of the Brussels prosecutors' office. Belgian police located Oumouzaa and arrested him at 12:15 on Wednesday in an apartment he was renting in Molenbeek-Saint-Jean.
Towards extradition to France
The day following his arrest, Oumouzaa was brought before Belgian justice and remanded in custody pending his extradition to France. He retains the possibility of appealing against the 2022 judgment and being retried by the criminal court of Dijon. The prosecutors' offices emphasised that this arrest, occurring at the end of five years of searches, illustrates the capacity of European judicial and police authorities to unite their resources to find persons who attempt to evade justice.
The magistrates recalled that "a sentence to a substantial term of imprisonment cannot remain without consequence merely because of the escape of the person sentenced". They praised the quality of the work carried out by all French and Belgian investigators, as well as the remarkable cooperation between the specialised services of the two countries.
Source: Actu17