Rabat – Three suspects in the murder of two Scandinavian tourists near Mount Toubkal were trying to escape when police arrested them this morning.
Police intercepted the murder suspects in Marrakech while they were riding a bus, trying to evade authorities.
Louisa Vesterager Jespersen, 24, from Denmark and Maren Ueland, 28, from Norway were found dead in Imlil, a village in Morocco near Mount Toubkal on Monday, December 17.
Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) had arrested the first suspect on Tuesday.
Read Also: Read also: Morocco’s BCIJ Arrests 3 Suspects for Murders of Scandinavian Tourists
Photos, allegedly of the three suspects arrested today, have been widely shared by social media users who condemned the killing.
One suspect, named as Rachid Aftati, is a small-businessman born in 1986, and lives in Al Kayed, in a rural area called Harbil, 30 kilometers from Marrakech.
The second suspect, Azid Youness, is a 27-year-old carpenter who lives in Al Azzouzia, Marrakech.
The third suspect, Abdelsamad Ijoud, is a 25-year-old who lives in the Zeroual neighborhood in Marrakech.
Within 24 hours of the first arrest, Morocco’s security services began to believe the murder was an act of terror.
The public prosecutor at Rabat’s Court of Appeals said the first suspect is part of a “radicalized” group.
