Rabat – Morocco’s General Directorate for National Security (DGSN) aborted a drug trafficking operation at Ceuta’s border crossing, northern Morocco, leading to the confiscation of 343 kilograms of cannabis resin.
The DGSN led the operation on Monday, February 3, in collaboration with the customs services at the border, according to a press release from the directorate.
Trained police dogs detected the drugs hidden inside the body of a car heading towards the Spanish enclave of Ceuta.
The operation also led to the arrest of the car’s driver, a 47-year-old French national of Moroccan origins.
The authorities transferred the suspect to the judiciary police in the nearby city of Tetouan. The suspect will remain in custody pending investigations into the local and international ramifications and identify possible accomplices.
The operation was part of the regular border control at the entrance of Ceuta, aiming to ensure the safety and comfort of travelers in both directions and to abort trafficking of prohibited items, including drugs.
The DGSN has carried out several similar operations as part of Morocco’s efforts to combat international drug trafficking networks.
On February 2, Moroccan police seized 4,603 kilograms of cannabis near Nador, northeastern Morocco. The operation led to the arrest of a 37-year-old suspect for his links to a drug trafficking network.
The operation has also led to the seizure of three vehicles, several inflatable boat engines, and 121 containers containing a total of 3,630 liters of fuel.
According to the DGSN’s annual statistics, police seized 179,657 tons of cannabis and its derivatives in 2019. Security services also confiscated large quantities of hard drugs, including 542,455 kilograms of cocaine, 7,196 kilograms of heroin, and 1,407,451 psychotropic tablets. Ecstasy (MDMA) was the most common hard drug, with the confiscation of 974,983 tablets imported from Europe.
