Arrest of Dikke Nordin and Ibrahim Akhlal highlights for Belgian police

In 2023, the Fugitive Active Search Team (FAST) of the Belgian federal police, which is dedicated to tracking down fugitive criminals, managed to arrest 168 suspects. The highlights are the arrests of the Belgian-Moroccan Ibrahim Akhlal and Nordin El Hajjioui.

According to Minister Van Tigchelt, 61 of these arrests were carried out within Belgium, with FAST itself able to arrest 53 fugitives. The remaining arrests took place with the support of other police units or in collaboration with foreign forces for cases outside the country’s borders.

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Among those arrested was Ibrahim Akhlal, a notorious Brussels gangster who was sentenced to 21 years in prison for several violent robberies. After escaping from prison twice, he was arrested on the border between Mauritania and Morocco. Nordin El Hajjioui, nicknamed ‘Fat Nordin’, a prominent figure in the cocaine and arms trade, was arrested in Dubai and brought back to Belgium for trial.

Gerry Van Loock, the head of FAST, emphasized the importance of international cooperation. Although the number of open cases has been reduced from 1,900 to 900 in the past five years, challenges remain. The focus is not only on arresting criminals, but also on tracing and confiscating their criminal assets.

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The results are partly due to the strengthening of ties with authorities in countries that were previously considered ‘safe havens’. This has led in particular to arrests of high-value targets in the United Arab Emirates, although there are still around twenty wanted persons there.