Security services seized 1.02 tonnes of cannabis resin during the operation.
Rabat – Police thwarted on Monday evening an international drug trafficking operation in Larache, northern Morocco.
During the operation, police seized 1.02 tonnes of cannabis resin, a statement of the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) announced on Tuesday.
Police found a car in a forested area adjacent to the Muhet neighborhood of Larache.
Security services suspected the car was transporting a shipment destined for drug trafficking beyond Morocco’s borders through maritime routes.
The driver abandoned the vehicle with 32 packages of cannabis resin, with the drugs weighing in total 1.02 tonnes.
Police opened an investigation to arrest all suspects with links to the drug trafficking network.
The operation is part of Morocco’s approach to combat drug trafficking nationally and at the international level and follows two important drug seizures in Errachidia and Casablanca.
On September 23, police aborted a drug trafficking attempt in Casablanca, seizing 1.992 tonnes of cannabis resin.
One day after, on September 24, police seized one tonne of cannabis resin in an agricultural farm near Errachidia.
Morocco vows major efforts to continue to combat drug trafficking.
Security operations by DGSN, the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), and other units enabled Morocco’s police to seize 179,657 tonnes of cannabis and its derivatives in 2019.
The number represents an increase of 127 tonnes compared to 2018.
Police also seized hard drugs, including 542,455 kilograms of cocaine, 7,196 kilograms of heroin, and 1,407,451 psychotropic tablets, including 974,983 ecstasy tablets imported from Europe.