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Rabat – The organized crime squad of the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), an offshoot of Morocco’s domestic intelligence agency (DGST), arrested on Friday members of a criminal gang suspected of several serious crimes including kidnapping and demanding ransom.
The arrested criminals were reportedly operating in Casablanca, Fes, and Agadir. The Moroccan Ministry of Interior said that the criminals were kidnapping their mostly wealthy victims and forcing their families to pay ransoms for their release.
“Thanks to the search procedures, field investigations, tracking and surveillance processes, the anti-organized crime squad has succeeded in breaking the threads of this criminal network by identifying the identities of the perpetrators of these serious crimes, which threaten people’s physical integrity,” a statement issued by the ministry said.
The ministry revealed that the operation led to the arrest of four criminals, including the mastermind of this network, and the seizure of significant sums of money as well as logistical means used in their crimes.
The manhunt and investigations are still ongoing, under the direct supervision of the public prosecutor, to arrest the rest of the members of the gang, added the ministry.
The statement said that the operation is part of the ongoing efforts of the BCIJ’s organized crime squad to crack down on criminal networks.
