A 12-year prison sentence was handed down to drug lord in Antwerp "Fat Nordin"
Nour Eddine El Hajjioui, known as "Dikke Nordin van den Dam", was sentenced to 12 years in prison for leading a large cocaine smuggling operation in Belgium. The Antwerp Court of Assizes described his crimes as extremely serious.
The court found Nour Eddine guilty of leading an organized criminal network that imports large quantities of drugs into the country, and he was also convicted of firearms-related offenses. In addition to a prison sentence, he was fined 12,000 euros, and 5 million euros of illicit profits were confiscated.
The investigation began in 2019 when a 20-year-old woman accidentally shot herself in the foot in an apartment in Zwijndrecht near Antwerp. During the search of the apartment, the police discovered weapons and drugs, leading investigators to uncover a large-scale smuggling network led by Nour Eddine.
By 2022, more than 50 suspects had been brought to court. Nour Eddine fled to Dubai after his previous conviction and did not appear in court until March 2024 when he was deported to Belgium. The rest of the gang members were sentenced at the end of 2024.
Nour Eddine Al-Hajjioui is still facing additional trials in Antwerp and Tongeren due to other criminal activities. If convicted, he could spend several more decades in prison, far exceeding the current sentence of 12 years.