Rabat – Police in Marrakech have conducted inspections of 105 restaurants from September 8-14. During the campaign, security services confiscated nearly 70,000 bottles of alcoholic drinks that were unfit for consumption or from unknown sources.
Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) announced the results of the inspection campaign on Tuesday night through a press release.
According to the statement, authorities seized 62,000 beer bottles that exceeded their expiry date. Police officers also confiscated 2,937 bottles of alcohol bearing no tax stamp or suspicious labels, 652 bottles with stamps that do not match their actual volume, and 4,622 bottles with outdated or non-standard stamps.
In addition to the bottles, security services confiscated 275,186 counterfeit tax stamps, as well as a batch of fire-damaged stamps.
Out of the 105 inspected restaurants, authorities reported 38 establishments that served alcoholic drinks without authorization, 48 with irregular employees, 17 for exceeding the employees’ legal working hours, 48 for not respecting social distancing measures, and 11 where employees did not wear mandatory face masks.
Marrakech police issued fines for the restaurants’ managers, based on the violations.
The security operations also led to the closure of three warehouses and one restaurant, pending investigations to determine the source and legal status of the confiscated goods.
The managers of some of the restaurants will also remain in custody, pending the investigations.
Police in Marrakech organized the inspections of restaurants in collaboration with local administrative authorities and central national security services.
Municipal hygiene services, the National Food Safety Office, and the Customs and Indirect Tax Administration also contributed to the operations.
Read also: Morocco Seizes 1 Million Bottles of Expired, Smuggled Alcoholic Drinks
The recent campaign falls within the framework of impromptu inspections security services have been carrying out in Morocco to prevent the violation of the state of health emergency.
Similar operations in Fez and Casablanca also led authorities to confiscate hundreds of thousands of alcoholic beverages that did not comply with health or tax protocols.
