Nordin El H. left the United Arab Emirates on a military plane and will land in Melsbroek later this evening. This is confirmed by Minister of Justice Paul Van Tigchelt (Open Vld), who visited the federal judicial police Mechelen this afternoon.
36-year-old El H. grew up in the Antwerp working-class district of Den Dam, between the Sportpaleis and the current Park Spoor Noord. There he was nicknamed ‘Dikke Nordin van den Dam’.
The Antwerp public prosecutor’s office has seven files against him. This mainly concerns the import of cocaine, but also attacks and illegal arms trade. He now faces 15 years in prison.
He had previously been sentenced to 40 months in prison for drug trafficking. After that conviction, he fled to Dubai in 2016, but according to the Antwerp public prosecutor’s office, he was still in control from there and had cocaine smuggled into the port of Antwerp. He is now also accused of drug trafficking.
His extradition was requested in accordance with the extradition treaty between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Belgium. At the beginning of this month it was already known that the extradition would take place, but no date had yet been announced. The decision follows after the suspect has exhausted all appeal options.
