Who is Othman El Ballouti? The Belgian Cocaine Trafficker Threatened by "El Mayo"

"Socalj" for Borderland Beat

Othman El Ballouti, a businessman who Belgian newspapers describe as one of Europe’s major cocaine traffickers, has been on the run from Belgian police, who suspect him to be hiding in Dubai. 

Belgian newspapers cast El Ballouti as a man who runs a large cocaine import business from the Belgian port of Antwerp, a charge he refutes. Their coverage often describes him as one of the country's biggest drug barons, with ties to several competing gangs. Sources told Gazet van Antwerpen that his combined assets are worth at least 100 million euros ($118 million).

At 37, he is one of Belgium's most notorious criminals. He is the eldest of a family whose parents came from Morocco in the 1980s. He began his criminal activity as a courier, transporting drugs out of the port of Antwerp. Officially he is a dealer in luxury watches.

He was arrested at the Brussels airport in 2016 after the police traced money he had donated to a Muslim school in Antwerp to “illegal sources,” according to Gazet van Antwerpen. After he was released on probation, El Ballouti fled the country. 

He relocated to the so-called 'criminal sanctuary' of Dubai, UAE, nicknamed the United Gangster Emirates, (which does not have an extradition treaty with Belgium), alongside dozens of other traffickers moving there at the time. The network of Dubai-based traffickers, including leaders from the Mocro (Moroccan Dutch) Mafia, Italian Camorra, the Kinahans, and Australian bikies were dubbed the 'Super Cartel'. 

Othman El Ballouti

Dutch-Moroccan and Belgian gangs have been at war over drug distribution across Belgium and the Netherlands since 2012. Over 20 people have been killed in Antwerp and Amsterdam, two of the biggest drug ports in Western Europe, in recent years.

The El Ballouti family hasn’t escaped the consequences of these turf wars.

Firdaous, 11 years old, was killed during an attack on the El Ballouti family home in January 2023.

The Killing of Ballouti's Niece

The murder of an 11-year-old girl, in Antwerp, occurred earlier this year after unknown gunmen fired an AK-47 into a garage in the quiet neighborhood of Nieuwdreef. She was the niece of Othman el Ballouti. The garage had been converted into a living room and kitchen. Two other people were also injured.

After the killing of his niece, Ballouti issued a statement from Dubai denying any role in drug trafficking and saying his family would not respond to the killing with more violence. "A model family," is how neighbor Frank Pypaert described the family.

“We will respond, but not in the way the Mayor of Antwerp thinks,” Ballouti said cryptically.

The young girl’s death was the latest in more than 50 shootings, bombings, and other attacks to strike Antwerp since August as the cartels that control most of this record-breaking cocaine business began campaigns of violence and intimidation against each other in a battle for control of the multi-billion Euro industry.

Antwerp has seen repeated shootings and explosions, one property linked to an Antwerp-based cartel has been bombed at least a dozen times, usually intended to intimidate more than kill. “These bombings and shootings aren’t designed to kill people but rather intimidate rival gangs,” said the police official.

“So this is a tragic consequence, when you lose control of a port to a cocaine cartel, as it feels Antwerp has done, it is logical that you would next lose control of the streets around the ports.

Younes El Ballouti "El Magico"

Younger Brother's Kidnapping

El Ballouti’s younger brother, Younes “El Magico” El Ballouti, was kidnapped off an Antwerp street when leaving a gym in 2016. The kidnappers reportedly demanded tens of millions of Euros from Othman El Ballouti for his brother’s release, according to Gazet van Antwerpen.

They then took Younes to France, where he escaped from the apartment he was being held in after five weeks and went to the local police for help. El Ballouti told police that Dutch drug lord Houssine Ait Soussan had been behind the kidnapping scheme. Ait Soussan allegedly wanted to punish El Ballouti for his being excluded from the Antwerp cocaine smuggling route.

In 2017, Dutch police arrested four men from Paris for the kidnapping and extradited them to Belgium. Prosecutors sought at least 12 years for the kidnapping charge. Two were later also prosecuted for the kidnapping of Abdelkader Bouker, an Antwerp drug lord nicknamed “The Jew.” He has not been seen since the kidnapping and is believed to have been killed.

Othman gave an interview in 2020 to the Antwerp Gazet regarding his brother's kidnapping stating, "I have nothing to do with cocaine trafficking or smuggling. I'm just doing business. I trade in exclusive watches, I'm in real estate and I'm active on the stock exchange.' He said publicity about his supposedly lucrative drug business gave kidnappers an idea.

"Just like those hostage-takers who took the Genk child, my brother's kidnappers assumed that his family would be able to put those millions of ransom money on the table. One: I don't have enough money to pay millions of ransoms. Two: Even if I did have that money, I would never pay. Not even a Euro."

Othman says that in conversations with the kidnappers, he was asked to cough up even 10 million Euros: "I also replied that they could only kill my brother once."

He says he was threatened: 'If you don't pay, we will do to your brother what we did to Abdelkader Bouker.' Bouker (“The Jew”) disappeared after a batch of cocaine was seized by the police in Antwerp.

Antwerp's 'White Christmas' 10-Ton Cocaine Seizure

Antwerp, Europe’s largest physical port, seized a record total of 110 metric tons of cocaine in 2022.  Kristian Vanderwaeren, the head of Belgium customs, announced the arrival of a “White Christmas” in Antwerp with a year-ending 10-ton cocaine bust.

"It was my naive idea that this year we wouldn't have a lot of seizures,” Vanderwaeren told Gateway in an interview. “But that's not the reality." Antwerp’s seizures have risen an average of 36% a year since 2013 as Europe’s northern ports became the focus of trafficking cartels over the last decade.

Dutch officials, on the other hand, reported just over 50 tons in cocaine seizures from Rotterdam, Europe’s busiest port last year. This was a slip down from last year’s record of 70 tons.

 

Ridouan Taghi, head of the Mocro Mafia

With Dutch cartel kingpin Ridouan Taghi now on trial for multiple murders and drug trafficking in a specially built courthouse in Amsterdam, nicknamed ‘Ze Bunker’, police officials said the power center for the cocaine trade appears to be moving south across the Belgian border into Antwerp. Especially following the arrest of Taghi's lawyer Inez Weski earlier this year on charges of helping Taghi run his drug empire from jail while awaiting the famed Marengo Trial.

Peter de Vries, a crime journalist was assassinated in 2021.

Taghi, from prison, is said to have ordered the murder of crime journalist Peter de Vries in 2021. His assassination was recorded to post on social media as an additional intimidation factor. The reporter was helping to prep a former accomplice turned witness, Nabil Bakkali. In 2019, prior to Taghi's arrest in Dubai, Taghi ordered the killings of the brother and lawyer of the star witness, Nabil B.

“The Dutch guys from the ‘Mocro Mafia’ used to be bosses and the Antwerp clans would specialize in getting drugs out of the port,” said a Belgian police official, using the Dutch term for the Moroccan Mafia. “There’s been a lot of arrests of Dutch traffickers, so the Antwerp clans have stepped in to replace them.”

Indictment in Belgium

Ballouti and another trafficker hiding in Dubai, Nordin al Hajjoui, have been indicted in Belgium for moving tons of cocaine through Antwerp based on evidence developed from a hack of Sky ECC encrypted phones in 2020 by law enforcement in Belgium, Netherlands, and France.

Following the Sky ECC operation carried out by the Belgian police, ten people from the El Ballouti organization were arrested in October 2021, including his brother Nordin and his brothers-in-law Khalid and Mohamed T.

Last year, Belgian officials suggested that the hundreds of cases built from the Sky ECC evidence had been partially responsible for 2021’s record cocaine seizures, but that the increase in 2022 numbers makes clear that the northern ports remain the key method of entry for Europe.

“Probably half the cocaine in Europe is currently coming through Antwerp, Rotterdam, or nearby ports controlled by the same cartels,” said the official. “There’s a lot of money and power at stake in Antwerp, so there’s more tension in the drug environment.”

Younes El Ballouti "El Magico"

Othman's once-kidnapped brother, Younes El Ballouti, was sentenced to eight years in prison after being convicted of drug trafficking in absentia by a Belgian court.

Youssef Ben Azza "Benz"

Youssef Ben Azza "Benz" has helped establish front companies for the El Ballouti brothers' trafficking business, and is also accused of having been involved in drug trafficking for over a decade, the Treasury Department said.

US Treasury Sanctions

The three men, who are wanted by the Belgian authorities, are believed to be holed up in Dubai, according to the US Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

"Today, OFAC sanctioned three Belgian nationals, including Othman El Ballouti, who is a high-level drug trafficker, as well as his younger brother, Younes El Ballouti, and his associate, Youssef Ben Azza," the Treasury Department said in a press release.

The Department alleges that Othman El Ballouti manages an international criminal organization that smuggles “significant quantities of cocaine via shipping containers through the Port of Antwerp in Belgium for wider distribution throughout Europe”.

They also accused Othman El Ballouti of running a money laundering enterprise with links to businesses in mainland China and to drug traffickers in South America. They specifically mention the previously sanctioned Ecuadorian national and cocaine trafficker Wilder Emilio Sanchez Farfan, who was arrested in Colombia in February 2023.

Othamn's cousin Soufiane El Ballouti is a professional kickboxer.

Othman, Younes, and Nordin are cousins of kickboxer Soufiane El Ballouti. Soufiane is not believed to be involved in their family business. His fights have taken place in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and the Netherlands. 

The new US sanctions could greatly impact his kickboxing career as he might be barred from entering certain countries, namely the United States, in order to compete. This denial of entry happened to several boxers, including Tyson Fury, following sanctions brought against members of the Kinahan Cartel who also managed several boxers and promoted fights. 

Dubai Properties & Companies

A leaked database of real estate information shows that a man by the name of Othman El Ballouti owns property in the emirate.

El Ballouti appears in a leaked database of property and residency data compiled by assorted real estate professionals obtained by the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project through C4ADS. His name is connected with 11 properties in Dubai with a combined worth of nearly US$ 8.5 million.

Mira Community

Four of these properties, worth about $2 million, are in the Mira townhouses in Reem, described by local real estate agents as a “relaxed” exotic community away from the commotion of the city. It features “an exclusive desert botanical park, camping facilities, sand surfing and camel riding trails, go-karting track, dune buggies, a rock climbing wall, and a skate park.”

Discovery Gardens Properties

Two other properties, which he is listed as having sold, are located in the Discovery Gardens, a residential high-rise community marketed for small families and bachelors. They are worth about $244,000 today.

Sky View Complex

El Ballouti also has a property in the Address Residence Sky View, which is one of Dubai’s most luxurious hotel and apartment complexes. The architecturally unique complex of two towers is connected by a sky bridge that includes a restaurant, ballroom, and infinity pool. Apartments the same size as El Ballouti’s in this luxury residence sell for about $1.4 million today.

The Sky View towers are located next to the famous Burj Khalifa hotel, the site of the 2017 wedding of Daniel Kinahana, of which members of the Super Cartel attended and were observed by DEA Agents, the belief is that the network was solidified at that wedding.

Youssef's "Benz Gang"

The partner of Othman is Youssef Ben Azza, nicknamed 'Benz'. He is said to be the head of a gang that imported 16.2 tons of cocaine via the port of Antwerp between January and November 2020. 'Benz' called on his twin brother Mustapha and other family members to drive and empty drug containers to storage sheds. The investigation shows that the organization uses hidden spaces in cars and apartments.

In 2022, Youssef and Soulimane El Ballouti, of the rental company Exclusive Quality Cars in Deurne, Belgium were sentenced in absentia to 15 and 10 months in prison for money laundering. The company rented sports cars from luxury brands Jaguar, Porsche, BMW, Lamborghini, Ferrari, and Mercedes to criminals who paid cash for them.

The 'Benz' gang was rounded up in June 2022. Six suspects were arrested. Youssef could not be found by the police anywhere. The public prosecutor's office already announced at the time that the leading figures were probably hiding in the United Arab Emirates.

According to the US investigation, Youssef now owns the real estate agency Luxury Real Estate in the United Arab Emirates. He states that he has more than 10 years of experience in luxury real estate. He would have helped the El Ballouti brothers set up money laundering companies.

Video Threat from El Mayo's Men

On the same day that the US Treasury imposed sanctions on El Ballouti and his network, a video was released by journalist Jorin van de Az on the news site Gazet van Antwerpen, although the exact date of its creation is unknown. The video featured a Mexican man, said to be representing Sinaloa Cartel leader Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. He addresses Othman and his family directly regarding a debt that "El Mayo" is owed.

“Just as I have the balls to come and make this video with my face, Mr. Ballouti, I am also standing with my people from Mayo Zambada, do you understand me? So check the information carefully...”

"I'm sorry, Mr. Ballouti, that I sent people to the door of one of your people to settle a debt," he said apologetically. Then the tone becomes more menacing. The man tells El Ballouti to show the video to the Mexicans in Europe. “They will tell you who I am. I have the balls to show my face to you here. You need to get serious."

“But debts are debts of honor, debts of men. This business is for men, not fags. Then I ask you to get your act together with that debt, sir. In advance, I apologize again, but well, you also get serious. There we are. Take care of yourself, Ballouti family,” concluded the man, representing Ismael "El Mayo" Zambada. At no time does the man mention what said debt consists of, that is if it is related to a shipment of drugs or money.

Sources OFAC, Sunday World, OCCRP, La Libre, La Libre, Infobae, Guardian, HLN, VRT, HLN, Borderland Beat, Crimesite, Tapology, GVA