Moroccan police have arrested Samir 'Patatje' El Y., a suspected drug trafficker from Antwerp, Gazet van Antwerpen reports on Monday.
The 50-year-old is wanted in both Belgium and the Netherlands and is suspected of involvement in international drug trafficking, particularly ecstasy in Morocco.
Nicknamed 'Samir Turtle', he was apprehended a month ago in the Casablanca region. According to Moroccan media, he is also implicated in human trafficking.
His name features in cases in both Antwerp and Brussels, predominantly linked to the Sky ECC investigation, during which police intercepted and deciphered millions of encrypted messages between criminals.
Officially residing in Borsbeek, Samir El Y. has been on the run for years, frequently hiding in Dubai.
Within the Sky ECC network, he used the aliases 'Dragon' and 'Isaac Griffith'.
