Belgium seeks extradition of Iraqis arrested in Athens
Legal procedures have been launched for the extradition to Belgium of three Iraqi nationals who were arrested in Athens last week on European arrest warrants.
All three are accused of participating in a ring based in Belgium that trafficked migrants and forged documents. The alleged leader of the ring is being prosecuted by Belgian judicial authorities for financing Islamist terrorism, while he is also alleged to be involved in smuggling artworks. Greek authorities had been notified about the three by the Belgian counterterrorism agency in October.
According to information provided to the Attica Security Directorate by the Belgian counterterrorism service, the ring had branches in Greece, Italy, Germany and Turkey.
The investigation of the three Iraqis in Athens yielded evidence of money transfers and parcels sent to EU countries and Asia. It is possible that there were forged passports inside the parcels.
