Belgian drug convict Nasserdine Tarrahi was extradited from Dubai to Belgium, but authorities have struggled to seize the profits he amassed through luxury property buys in the emirate. The Antwerp prosecutor’s office confirmed Tarrahi, 38, was sent back on October 14. A Belgian court had estimated the proceeds of his crimes could reach 5 million euros, yet investigators found only about $20,000 in cash and exercise equipment stored in an Antwerp apartment used as a base for drug trafficking. Tarrahi was a senior figure in the “Turtles”, a Belgian-Moroccan gang that specialized in retrieving South American cocaine from containers passing through the port of Antwerp. After his “Turtles” role, he fled to Dubai, where he continued running drug trafficking operations, according to the most recent court verdict issued in May. While Belgian justice caught up with him, the fight over illicit wealth was harder. OCCRP reported that property data showed Tarrahi purchased six luxury properties in Dubai between 2019 and 2021, investing the equivalent of $6.2 million. He has since sold all of them. Three of the properties were bought for a total of $3.8 million and sold for $6.6 million three years later. The findings suggest Tarrahi moved significant wealth into Dubai and may have profited from the deals, even as Belgian authorities worked to trace criminal proceeds. Tarrahi also secured permanent residency in Dubai based on his property holdings, with a visa issued barely a year after he was convicted in Belgium for trafficking drugs from his Dubai base. Immigration records obtained by OCCRP show he visited the Emirates repeatedly over two decades and received seven UAE visas between 2010 and 2020. Dubai’s financial secrecy and low taxes have long made it a destination for wealthy individuals seeking privacy, and a 2024 OCCRP investigation mapped hundreds of thousands of Dubai properties linked to sanctioned politicians, alleged criminals, and public officials and family. Tarrahi now faces Belgium as he continues through the legal process, with the right to appeal the Antwerp court verdict once he arrives on Belgian soil.