Three drug traffickers extradited from the United Arab Emirates to Belgium; 16 criminals repatriated since 2022
Three drug traffickers sought by Belgium have been brought back from the United Arab Emirates aboard a military aircraft. The total number of extraditions has now reached 16 since the treaty was signed in 2022.
Three drug traffickers transferred from the United Arab Emirates to Belgium under federal escort
Three drug traffickers sought by Belgian justice have been extradited from the United Arab Emirates and imprisoned in Belgium, reports lalibre.be. Their transfer was carried out aboard a Defence ministry aircraft, under escort by the federal police.
The three individuals were targeted in separate cases: S.J. is being prosecuted in a matter handled by the Mons court of appeal, while G.F. and K.M. are part of cases being heard by the Antwerp court of appeal. All three are now behind bars in Belgium.
According to the Ministry of Justice, these latest extraditions bring to 16 the total number of criminals classified as "High Value Targets" repatriated from the United Arab Emirates to Belgium since the extradition treaty came into force in 2022.
Belgian authorities justify this treaty by the necessity of preventing traffickers from "taking refuge in places where they can lead a luxurious life with impunity". They emphasise that the previous absence of an extradition agreement, coupled with the possibility of investing anonymously in real estate in the United Arab Emirates, had long allowed criminals wanted, prosecuted or convicted in Belgium to evade justice — facts often linked to the port of Antwerp.
Minister Verlinden hailed "excellent cooperation" with the United Arab Emirates and stated that these extraditions send "a strong signal to all criminal networks": "Belgium will not give up", she declared. She added that this partnership makes it possible to "bring fugitive criminals to justice or compel them to serve their sentence".
Source: Google News MA — Crime (fr)