A 33-year-old Belgian man, reportedly one of the most important drug barons in Europe, was arrested in Almuñécar yesterday.

It was in June that the Belgian authorities requested that Spain tracked down the suspect, accused of drug and arms trafficking, as they had news that he was living in Southern Spain

Y.M.W. is considered to be the head of a drugs ring that brought large quantities of cocaine into Europe via the Belgian port of Antwerp, from where it was distributed across the continent. This activity was allegedly linked to the International, illegal, arms trade.

The Guardia Civil immediately began an exhaustive investigation, which tracked him down to Estepona in the province of Málaga where he lived with his family in a luxury villa.

In October when a European Arrest Warrant was issued against him he fled that address, leading the Spanish police to believe that he was able to obtain inside information on judicial and police activity.

With the approach of Christmas, the Guardia Civil staked out his parents’ house which bore fruit on the 23rd of December because the parents travelled into the province of Granada to reach Almuñécar. The suspect was tracked down in one of the more exclusive urbanisations of the municipality, staying in a luxury villa again.

The police again carried out a stake out and arrested him when he left the house on an electric scooter.

(News: Almunecar, Costa Tropical, Granada, Andalucia)