Dubai prosecutors look at extradition request after alleged Belgian drug trafficker caught

Dubai Police arrested Nordin EH, 32, who has been linked to cocaine smuggling and hand grenade attacks against rivals in Antwerp

A picture of Nordin EH with his identity partially obscured. Belgian officials thanked Emirati police for his arrest in Dubai. The National

A suspected drug trafficker linked to violent turf wars in Belgium faces extradition after his arrest in Dubai.

Dubai's judicial authorities have received a request to extradite Nordin EH after Dubai Police apprehended him in a raid last week.

The 32-year-old faces various drug charges and has been linked to cocaine smuggling and hand grenade attacks on rivals in Antwerp.

Dubai officials confirmed to The National that they received a request to extradite Nordin EH on June 18. The case was being examined by the attorney general's office.

Kristof Aerts, spokesman for the Antwerp's public prosecution office, thanked Emirati officials for their role in the arrest.

"This arrest was made possible thanks to the excellent work of the ambassador of the Emirates and collaboration between... various police services, including the Antwerp Federal Judicial Police and Interpol," he said in a report carried by Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws.

"As a public prosecutor, we hope that this cooperation can continue and that we can count on the help and cooperation of the authorities and police forces in the United Arab Emirates in the future to arrest persons sought by our country."

Nordin EH, who is Belgian with a Moroccan background, has been linked to a spate of attacks involving hand grenades in Antwerp, home to one of the world's largest ports.

Flemish news reports have charted a feud with another suspect nicknamed 'Frank de Tank', a bodybuilder and alleged drug figure.

The arrest and potential extradition is the latest in a series of raids against European crime figures in Dubai.

In December, suspected Dutch crime lord Ridouan Taghi was arrested in connection with 11 murders in the Netherlands.

It was alleged he was behind a third of Europe’s cocaine trade and is rumoured to have made €100 million from drugs.

Within days Taghi, also spelled Radwan Al Taghi, was extradited to the Netherlands and was held in the Vught, a maximum security prison for terrorists and murderers serving life sentences.

Dubai Police said his capture highlighted "the influential contribution of the UAE to fighting crime globally".

Earlier this month, Amir Faten Mekky - an international gang leader wanted by Interpol - was arrested in Dubai.

He was associated with Taghi and the so-called Angels of Death gang and was wanted in connection with two murders and arson attacks in southern Spain.

As with many countries, UAE laws allow for the extradition of wanted suspects, even when their crimes have not been committed in the Emirates.