Wanted drug lord in Belgium caught in Turkey

Abdelilah El M., who is stated to be one of the leaders of the drug network in the city of Antwerp was caught in Turkey.

According to the news of Yusuf Özkan from BBC Turkish, Abdelilah El M., of Moroccan origin, who is known by the nicknames "Black" (Black) and "Narkos" among criminal organizations, was detained due to the lack of his travel document while returning from a ski holiday in Turkey, where he has been living for a while.

According to Belgian media, 38-year-old Abdelilah El M., who is seen as one of the most important actors in the South American-based cocaine trade, was stopped by the police while making a video call on his mobile phone. El M.'s cousin Karim El M., nicknamed "Madonna", was with him when he was taken into custody.

Belgium asked for extradition

Belgian Minister of Justice, Vincent Van Quickenborne, confirmed the detention of Abdelilah El M. with the words, "One of the top of our wanted list has really been arrested in Turkey." Belgium requested the extradition of El M., who was held in a temporary detention center in Istanbul.

Abdelilah El M. was sentenced to 8 years in prison for being a drug gang leader in the Netherlands. However, Belgian media wrote that Turkey may prevent extradition due to the Sabancı assassination suspect Fehriye Erdal decision. According to the news in the Belgian media, Turkey stated that it was reacting to the Belgian authorities because of the Fehriye Erdal decision, and therefore, it might cause difficulties in the extradition of El M.

Sentenced to 15 years in absentia by the Bruges Court for Sabancı's assassination, Fehriye Erdal lost her track after the verdict. Turkey's extradition requests were unsuccessful. Erdal, who is on the Belgian police's most wanted criminals list, has not been caught since 2017. Turkey accuses Belgian police of failing to detain Erdal before the trial and allowing him to escape.