Drug trafficker sentenced arrested in Molenbeek after five years on the run
Mahdi Oumouzaa, 42, wanted for five years for drug trafficking, was arrested on Wednesday in an apartment in Molenbeek.
Fugitive caught in Molenbeek after five years as an international fugitive
Mahdi Oumouzaa, 42, was arrested on Wednesday in an apartment rented in Molenbeek, bruxellestoday.be reports. The man had been on the run for five years, wanted for drug trafficking, money laundering and participation in an international criminal organisation.
In 2022, the Dijon district court sentenced him in absentia to seven years' imprisonment. His name was listed on the national register of most-wanted fugitives of the Narcotics Office (OFAST).
An initial arrest had taken place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, but extradition to France could not be completed, the Dijon prosecutor clarified. The investigation to locate Oumouzaa resumed in November, according to Ici Bourgogne, and required cooperation from the authorities of several countries, including Belgium.
The Brussels and Dijon public prosecutor's offices announced on Friday, in a joint statement, that the man has been remanded in custody in Belgium pending his surrender to French authorities.
Oumouzaa has the opportunity to lodge an opposition to the judgment given against him and to be retried by the Dijon district court for the charges against him, the same statement specifies.
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)