Five-year-old who went missing at Brussels Airport in 2020 is found

A five-year-old boy who went missing in the summer of 2020 after arriving at Brussels airport has been found, confirmed federal police and Hal-Vilvorde prosecutor’s office on Tuesday.

The boy, called Ahmad, has been located with his family in a German asylum centre, according to investigators.

An international search was launched when he went missing after landing at Brussels airport on 20 June, 2020. Ahmad had travelled from Greece in the company of a man named KB. The following day, the man returned to Greece alone and an investigation began when he was found to be in possession of false identity papers. On arrival in Belgium he had pretended to be the child’s father, believed to be a subterfuge.

“As we did not know where the boy was, an international alert was launched and a search warrant was issued by the federal police and Child Focus," said prosecution spokesperson Gilles Blondeau.

"The investigation has since established that the boy was with his family in a German asylum centre. The investigation has therefore been closed.”