'Antwerp drug criminals arrested in Emirates'
November 8, 2023

Two fugitive drug criminals from Antwerp have been arrested in the United Arab Emirates. It concerns an alleged seller of Sky ECC phones, and a suspected drug criminal.

Authorities in the country have arrested Mohamed B., an IT worker from the Borgerhout district of Antwerp, and Ilias EB, suspected of cocaine smuggling. The judge in Antwerp has requested the extradition of the two men. The Gazet van Antwerpen reported this on Wednesday.

Mohamed B. is wanted by the Antwerp court for several criminal offenses. B. was known as a kind of PC Doctor. He was convicted in the trial of 'Fat Nordin' El H., who is also in custody in the United Arab Emirates.

B. is also wanted because he appears in the file surrounding the encrypted communications platform Sky ECC. He was one of the so-called 'resellers' of these devices in the criminal environment.

His brother Said B. was also arrested in Dubai earlier, but he was released pending the completion of his extradition.

Antwerp resident Ilias EB, who, together with his brother Mounir, is the main suspect in various criminal cases taking place in the port of this city, was also recently arrested – in Dubai.

B. is one of the brothers of Samir EB, who was assassinated in Rotterdam in 2018 . The justice department later offered 20,000 euros for the tip that led to the solution of the case .

The parental home of the EB brothers in Deurne has been the target of attacks several times in recent years.