Belgian on the run arrested by French police in Mayotte

A Belgian, convicted of manslaughter of his wife, was arrested Tuesday, August 3 in Mayotte where he had fled with his new partner without having served the end of his sentence, AFP learned Wednesday from a police source.

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The 44-year-old fugitive, who had strangled his wife after an argument against a background of jealousy and alcohol, was sentenced in 2013 to 8 years in prison for assault and battery leading to death without intention of giving her. He had not returned to his cell at the end of 2020 while he was on semi-liberty. The Namur court then issued a European arrest warrant against him.

In France, the National Fugitive Search Brigade (BNRF), which specializes in this type of investigation, is informed of the facts by the Belgian authorities.

The French police find his trace for the first time in December 2020 when he crosses the Franco-Spanish border with his new partner, also Belgian, placed under surveillance.

The latter, very active and not very discreet on social networks, unwittingly helps the investigators who locate the couple in Mayotte.

The local police are seized and learn that the fugitive works there as a house keeper.

The couple also wrote classified advertisements for guardian positions in castles and villas under their own names, facilitating investigations.

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"

" Laurent Simonin, territorial director of the police in Mayotte, told AFP. The man is finally located and arrested in Sada, a town west of the main island of Grande-Terre. "He

" commented the commissioner. "

" where the couple had "

", he said. The fugitive was presented to the Mamoudzou prosecutor's office and placed in detention with a view to his extradition within 40 days to Belgium, the deadline provided for by the European arrest warrant.