Israel’s Godfather arrested over drug money laundering

The federal police’s Fugitive Active & Asset Search Team (FAST) has arrested an Israeli drug dealer known as ‘Israel’s godfather’. The man was arrested as part of an international operation led by the United States in which the Belgian federal police took part. Other arrests also took place in the United States and the Netherlands, the federal police said in a statement Thursday. The Israeli, who has lived in Belgium for several years, was arrested at the house he shares in Ixelles with his Belgian wife. He is suspected of belonging to a criminal organisation active in international drug trafficking on a large scale. According to the federal police, the gang imported large quantities of cocaine from South America into Europe via the port of Rotterdam. Its members also sold heroin and ecstasy. The Israeli played a crucial role in the organisation by laundering the gang’s profits through Belgian banks. His arrest was the only one in Belgium, said the federal police. He is currently locked up in Saint-Gilles prison, pending extradition to the United States.