A fugitive wanted by French authorities for five years over international drug trafficking was arrested in Brussels, Belgian prosecutors said. The suspect was found in a rented apartment in the municipality of Molenbeek on Wednesday and was placed in custody on Friday. He had been wanted since 2021. In 2022, a criminal court in Dijon sentenced him in absentia to seven years in prison for drug trafficking, money laundering linked to drug trafficking, and participation in a criminal organization, prosecutors said in a joint statement from Brussels and Dijon. Investigators previously tracked the man down in Dubai, where he was arrested. Extradition proceedings then failed to secure his transfer to France. In 2025, he was added to the list of France’s most wanted fugitives compiled by OFAST, the anti-narcotics office that coordinates the country’s fight against drug trafficking. Because the suspect moved between countries, investigators relied on intelligence-sharing with Morocco, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Belgium. Authorities located him in the Brussels region this month. The suspect is expected to be transferred to France under a European Arrest Warrant, where he could face a retrial before the Dijon court.