A 48-year-old Algerian citizen, who was considered a key figure in drug trafficking in the province of Fermo, was tracked down and arrested in Belgium. The man was the subject of a European arrest warrant for the execution of a prison sentence of almost ten years. His arrest is a significant success for the Carabinieri of Fermo and an example of effective international police cooperation.
International manhunt leads to success
The decisive operation took place in a small town south of Brussels and ended a manhunt that had been intensified since 2023. Investigators from the Carabinieri of Fermo had picked up the trail of the man, who was operating under numerous aliases and false nationalities. In close cooperation with the Italian Service for International Police Cooperation and the Belgian authorities, it was finally possible to locate the fugitive's whereabouts and coordinate the seizure. The man, who used to live in Sant'Elpidio a Mare, is now facing extradition to Italy to serve the remainder of his sentence of nine years, five months and eight days.
A long register of criminal offenses
The 48-year-old was known to the authorities for a long series of criminal offenses that he had committed between 2002 and 2010 in the provinces of Macerata and Fermo. His list of sins includes serious drug trafficking, including kilogram quantities of heroin, the production of forged documents, receiving stolen goods and damage to property. He was particularly notorious for his criminal activities in the coastal town of Lido Tre Archi. There he was involved in violent confrontations with slashing and stabbing weapons and, together with accomplices, destroyed the window of a bar. He also evaded justice several times by fleeing from house arrest and going into hiding in 2008 and 2010. Ironically, when he was arrested in Belgium, the man was already in prison again for robbery offenses - again under a false identity.
