A man arrested at Belfast Harbour is wanted in Spain over his alleged role in large-scale cannabis trafficking by pirate ship, a court has heard.
Hassan Ibrahim Gomaa is accused of being part of an international network involved in transporting more than €20 million worth of drugs from Morocco into Europe.
The 39-year-old Egyptian national was remanded into custody after confirming that he intends to fight extradition.
Gomaa, whose current address in Dublin remains unknown, is being sought to stand trial in Spain on charges of importing cannabis back in May 2013.
PSNI officers detained him at a ferry terminal in the docks area on Thursday evening.
Counsel for the Spanish authorities told Belfast Extradition Court the warrant for Gomaa’s arrest included “particularly serious” alleged offending.
Ben Thompson disclosed: “It relates to an international network involved in large-scale trafficking of hashish, of which the accused was a member.
“It carried out an operation to transport a large stash of hashish to the European market for which a pirate ship was launched.”
The vessel which was spotted after it left Morocco, according to the barrister.
Gomaa’s lawyer confirmed that he does not consent to extradition.
No application for bail was made by the accused at this stage in the process.
“He currently resides in Dublin and we do not have an address in this jurisdiction to offer,” the solicitor added.
Gomaa was remanded in custody to appear again by video-link on January 12