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Rabat – Eleven men between the ages of 28 and 51 were accused of involvement in a hashish smuggling scheme between France and Morocco, and will be presented before a court in Rennes for charges of drug trafficking, criminal conspiracy, and money laundering on March 28.
The accusations date back to December 2013, when the judicial police of Nantes were alerted of a drug operation between France and Morocco. In the years since, the police have wiretapped several targets between the two countries.
These records led to the arrest of three men onboard of a vehicle go-fast (a vehicle with the ability of transporting heavy cargos with a high speed), carrying 115 kg of hashish.
Read Also: Morocco’s DGSN Seizes 583 kg of Hashish and 34 kg of ‘Maajoun’ in Casablanca
Soon after, the entire network was dismantled from Morocco, where cannabis is grown, to France, where several members sell the drug. Two of the men are from the Paris region and a third is based indNantes. The searches carried out by the security elements at the home of one member of the organization allowed for the seizure of EU 22,000.
During the first day of the hearing, one of the defense lawyers questioned the regularity of the phone tapping, claiming that it had been conducted abroad and not on French territory.
In November 2017, six defendants had already been sentenced 5 to 7 years in prison, for their implications in another case.
Read Also: DGSN Seizes 475 kg of Cocaine and 7402 Tablets of Ecstasy in Tangier
Most of the accused were known among the police investigators, including a 45-year-old man, suspected to be the head of the international criminal organization. He was previously implicated in a cocaine trafficking case and is currently exercising his right to remain silent.
