Maputo — Mozambique's Central Office for the Fight against Corruption (GCCC), through its Office for Combating Organized and Transnational Crime, has extradited a drug lord, named Babatunde Tajudeen Abioye, to Holland.

The extradition, according to a statement from the GCCC, is in compliance with a ruling by the criminal section of the Supreme Court dated 20 January 2023.

"This individual is accused of committing illegal acts in Mozambique. As a result, the Office for Combating Organized and Transnational Crime opened criminal proceedings in which an indictment was sent to the Maputo City Law Court against him, a second foreign national and two Mozambicans, both civil servants who allegedly facilitated the acquisition of false documents', reads the note.

The defendants, according to the document, have been charged with the offences of forgery, use of false documents, corruption, criminal conspiracy, abuse of functions or office and money laundering.

The drug lord in question was sentenced in Holland to three years in prison for trafficking in illegal drugs and psychotropic substances, but he escaped from prison and settled in Mozambique, where he continued to run trafficking operations inside and outside the country.

From the proceeds of the crime, the accused acquired real estate, which was also seized and has reverted to the Mozambican state. His assets include three homes and a commercial facility.

According to the note, the procedures to hold the accused accountable on the Mozambican side will be carried out through legal co-operation with the Dutch state.

Recently, Mozambican Attorney-General, Beatriz Buchili, speaking at the opening of the judicial year, said that international cooperation was the way forward to facilitate the identification of international drug trafficking networks operating in Mozambique.

"We must make use of the various mechanisms of international cooperation, making use not only of formal mechanisms, but also informal ones', she said.