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Rabat – Customs and indirect tax authorities in Tangier, northern Morocco, dismantled on Sunday an underground plastic bag factory.
The factory operated out of Jouamaa, a town in the Fahs-Anjra province of the Tangier-Tetouan-Al Hoceima region.
Authorities dismantled the illegal plastic bag factory within the framework of the responsibilities of Morocco’s Administration of Customs and Indirect Taxes (ADII), which is obligated to protect consumers, fight commercial fraud, and protect the national economy.
The Authorizing Officer of Customs and Indirect Taxes in Tangier, Abdelghani Seghiri, said the operation was possible thanks to “precise information and a follow-up operation,” according to Morocco’s state media.
The plastic bag factory violated the provisions of Law No. 77-15, which bans the manufacture, import, export, marketing, and use of plastic bags in Morocco.
Seghiri added that “individuals implicated in this case will be prosecuted.”
During the operation — the second of its kind in Tangier in less than two months — authorities seized nine tonnes of plastic bags worth MAD 400,000 ($43,307). Authorities also confiscated materials and equipment used in the manufacturing of plastic bags.
Abdelouahab El Gaddar, the head of the Tangier customs subdivision, told Morocco’s state media that the operation is part of the fight against smuggling and the illegal manufacture of plastic bags in Morocco.
He said authorities carried out surveillance of the factory for more than one week, finding that the plastic bags do not comply with Morocco’s safety standards.
An investigation is ongoing under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor’s office in order to apprehend all individuals involved in the case.
The acting head of the mobile customs brigade in Tangier, Mohamed Harma, said the operation took place in coordination with the competent judicial authority. Authorities were able to apprehend individuals in the process of making plastic bags, he stated.
Authorities will destroyed the seized bags and materials in full compliance with environmental standards.
