Morocco arrested 97,564 people for their alleged involvement in drug cases. The number represents a decline of 23% compared to 2019, DGSN said.
Rabat – Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) issued its annual report on crime rate, drug trafficking, and fight against irregular migration.
With regards to drug trafficking, Moroccan police seized 132 kilograms and 167 grams of cocaine. The number represents a 75% decrease compared to the previous year.
Moroccan police also seized 476,923 psychotropic tablets, including 145,848 of ecstacy tablets smuggled from European countries.
The number, however, represents a drop of 66% compared to the quantities of psychotropic tablets Moroccan police seized in 2019.
Heroin drugs seized this year remained at the usual control level. In 2020, Morocco’s DGSN services seized eight kilograms and 501 grams of heroin.
Seizures of cannabis and its derivatives increased to 217 tonnes and 323 kilograms. The number represents an increase of 37 tonnes compared to 2019.
In 2020, Moroccan police arrested 97,564 people for their involvement in drug trafficking cases. The number represents a decline of 23% compared to 2019.
DGSN said that 2020 marked a decrease in indicators for “hard drugs” seized by Morocco police. It added that this was due to precautionary measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19, as well as Morocco’s strengthened approach to abort drug trafficking attempts across the country.
DGSN anti-terror services
DGSN services are fully integrated in Morocco’s anti-terrorism approach. Moroccan police collaborate with different security services to ensure national stability.
According to DGSN’s annual report, national security services referred 21 people to public prosecutors across Morocco for their involvement in terror and radical extremism cases.
Morocco’s Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ) carried out a number of security operations that led to the dismantling of several three-member terror cells throughout the year.
One of the recent operations took place on December 4, when the BCIJ dismantled a three-member terror cell with links to ISIS in Tetouan, northern Morocco.
According to the 2020 Global Terrorism Index (GTI), Morocco is the fourth safest country in the MENA region and 36th globally in terms of terrorism risks.
Since 2007, Morocco has spent one of the world’s highest budgets on violence containment, with $72.1 billion.
Other security services in numbers
DGSN also shared statistics regarding Morocco’s efforts to fight against sexual blackmail, saying that Moroccan police have referred 300 people involved in sexual extortion via the internet to public prosecutors.
The perpetrators targeted 458 victims, including 107 victims of foreign nationalities.
Police also arrested 231 persons in cases of embezzlement of public funds. DGSN also handled 250 cases related to the counterfeiting of the Moroccan currency.
