Morocco’s customs and security services seized 47,250 psychotropic pills at the border with Ceuta.
Rabat – Security authorities at the Ceuta border seized 47,250 psychotropic pills concealed inside a car registered in Spain.
According to customs, the driver was a Moroccan national who lives in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
Police took the driver to the Tetouan judicial police to complete an investigation under the supervision of the public prosecutor’s office.
In a discussion on Saturday in Tetouan, Government Spokesperson Mustapha El Khalfi discussed Morocco’s strategy against drugs.
El Khalfi said that in 2017, security services seized more than 2,500 kilograms of hard drugs.
He added that police seized more than 600,000 psychotropic pills during the first nine months of 2018.
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El Khalfi also discussed Morocco’s strategy to fight addiction, saying that before 2015, Morocco had only five centers for drug rehabilitation.
He said that Morocco now has 12 centers for rehabilitation. He added that Morocco aims to have 20 centers two years from now.
The spokesperson explained that Morocco’s geographical location attracts dangerous networks distributing various types of drugs.
El Khalfi added that the phenomena has become more serious because drug trafficking networks have developed methods to distribute drugs across the country in schools, using the internet and other means.
El Khalfi also shared prosecution statistics, saying the number of drug suspects increased from 36,000 persons per year during the previous decade to 107,000 in 2017.
He said that of Morocco’s 83,000 people in prison, 20 percent are serving drug-related sentences.
