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Rabat – Moroccan customs agents have conducted three successful drug seizure operations in three different regions in the past week alone, under the circumstances of the lockdown.
The operations are the result of collaborations between Moroccan customs and the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN).
The Moroccan Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxes (ADII) declared the seizure of 6.3 tons of cannabis resin on May 15. The operation took place at the Morocco-Mauritania border crossing of coastal Guerguerat, south of Dakhla.
Border control procedures led to the discovery of the seized cannabis that was hidden in a cargo of cardboard on board a Moroccan-registered truck, revealed DGSN the same day in a press release.
DGSN also arrested the 36-year-old driver who was heading to a sub-Saharan country, added the source.
The second operation took place one day before, on May 14, near the city of Kenitra. Authorities stopped a vehicle carrying 378 kilograms of cannabis resin, 91 kilograms of tobacco leaves, and 10 kilograms of ground tobacco.
On May 8, security services in the southern city of Agadir stopped two vehicles carrying 180 kilograms of cannabis resin, 146 kilograms of tobacco leaves, and 650 kilograms of raw cannabis.
Although DGSN reported that the country’s crime rate fell dramatically during the month of March—a drop of 20% compared to the same period in 2019—security services continue to conduct drug seizure operations.
The rise in such operations likely reflects an attempt by drug traffickers to exploit the authorities’ preoccupation with the state of emergency to pursue their criminal acts.
In addition to cannabis resin, cocaine seizures have also been among trending operations in the last few days.
The Moroccan security services operating in the Tangier Med Port arrested a truck driver on May 11 and seized more than 25.5 kilograms of pure cocaine from his vehicle.
The 40-year-old driver coming from Germany had carefully hidden the cocaine in the truck with the intention of entering the city of Tangier.
In 2019, Morocco seized 542,455 kilograms of cocaine, according to the annual report of DGSN.
The police also seized 179,657 tons of cannabis and its derivatives in 2019. The number represents an increase of 127 tons compared to the previous year.
In addition to cannabis and cocaine, police in 2019 also seized 7,196 kilograms of heroin and 1,407,451 psychotropic tablets, including 974,983 ecstasy tablets imported from Europe.
