Dutch suspects possibly involved in fatal shooting of 11-year-old in Antwerp
The television program Opsporing Verzocht brought attention on Tuesday evening to a January 2023 shooting at a home in Antwerp in which an 11-year-old girl named Firdaous was killed, and three of her family members were hurt. The victim who died was the daughter of Othman El Ballouti. The Antwerp-born man is suspected of running a global cocaine trafficking and money laundering operation using the Antwerp port, while possibly residing in downtown Dubai, the U.S. Department of the Treasury said last year based on information from Belgium and Interpol.
"As the mother of the murdered Firdaous, it is almost impossible to put into words what I am currently going through. Firdaous was not only my daughter; she was the apple of my eye, my friend and my rock," the girl's mother told Dutch police by email. She finds it incomprehensible that her young daughter lost her life as a result of a possible street-level drug war.
Authorities in Belgium raised the possibility that the crime may involve suspects based in the Netherlands. Although a 53-year-old woman and a 21-year-old man from Brussels were arrested, the case has not been closed. Their role in the attack is being investigated.
The shooting is presumably connected to a drugs-related conflict. The Antwerp mayor, Bart de Wever, announced shortly after the incident that the incident was linked to drug crime in his city. Dutch criminals have been more involved in drug trafficking in Antwerp in recent years, with the port there an alternate to the Rotterdam port, where security has been beefed up.
Video footage of two men parking their car near the home before the shooting was shown on the program. In one clip, one of the men walked towards the building that was shot at, and then later the other man followed on a black electrical step scooter. He was carrying a white bag which could have been used to conceal the firearm, the police say.
Five shots were fired at the garage on January 9, 2023, which the family mainly used as a living area. The incident happened on Nieuwdreef in Merksem district in Antwerp. Two sisters and the father were also wounded in the shooting. Neighbors tried to resuscitate the girl, but she died from her injuries at the hospital.
Shortly after the shooting, the two men returned to the car, an older grey Peugeot 308 model. The license plate was unreadable, but the vehicle has one black piece above the front right wheel that might indicate a recent repair. The images of the men and their movements were first broadcast on the Belgian show Faroek on Friday, February 23. One of the men had a face mask on at the time.
Police are still investigating if the 21-year-old Brussels suspect was one of the men in the camera footage.
