A 36-year-old Antwerp man convicted of importing cocaine via the port of Antwerp has sold a luxury apartment in the Emirati city. The buyer? Alejandro Salgado Vega, nicknamed “El Tigre”, considered one of the biggest Spanish cocaine barons.
An investigation carried out by the journalist collective OCCRP and the Norwegian media E24 has revealed controversial real estate transactions in Dubai.
These revelations show that criminal figures wanted by the courts were able to buy and sell prestigious goods with complete impunity.
Among them, Othman El Ballouti, a 36-year-old from Antwerp, sentenced in absentia in Belgium to seven years in prison for importing 840 kilos of cocaine via the port of Antwerp.
“The biggest Spanish cocaine trafficker”
The latter sold a luxury apartment in an emblematic skyscraper in Dubai for 1.5 million euros to Alejandro Salgado Vega, aka “El Tigre”.
This Spanish cocaine baron is considered by Madrid to be “the biggest Spanish cocaine trafficker“, the subject of an international arrest warrant since December 2022.
According to the Guardia Civil, “El Tigre” would operate a global cocaine trafficking network operating on five continents from Dubai. Despite their criminal profiles, the Emirati authorities validated this real estate sale, involving a 185 m² apartment.
A wider criminal web
This emblematic case is just one example among others. Drug lords, particularly those linked to Belgium, use Dubai as a base to expand their activities while investing in real estate.
There are 21 people left in the Emirates who we want to see tried in Belgium
Since the signing of an extradition agreement between Belgium and the United Arab Emirates in December 2021, Brussels has officially requested the extradition of 27 people. These requests concern suspects who must appear in court or convicts who must serve their sentences.
The acting Belgian Minister of Justice, Paul Van Tigchelt, details the situation: “Four people have already been extradited, one has died and another extradition has been refused. To date, there are therefore 21 people left in the Emirates who we want to see tried in Belgium or who must serve their sentence there.“
dubai papers Belgium extradition extradition criminals drug lords Dubai Alejandro Salgado Vega El Tigre trafficker Othman El Ballouti cocaine trafficking Antwerp
