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Officers from Morocco’s National Brigade of Judicial Police (BNPJ) arrested on Wednesday, January 6, a 57-year-old Lebanese national, affiliated to Shiite political party Hezbollah, on allegations of committing fraud and identity theft.
According to a statement from the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN), BNPJ officers conducted the arrest in Casablanca after the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) provided detailed information on the suspect’s whereabouts.
Preliminary investigations concluded that the fraud suspect has allegedly scammed several victims in Morocco by posing as the manager of a foreign company.
The Hezbollah member was able to garner his victims’ trust by presenting a French and a Portuguese passport, pretending they were his own. Moroccan security services found that the passports have been reported as stolen in the database of the International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL).
After persuading his victims that he was a foreign entrepreneur, the suspect apparently used fraudulent methods to demand sums of money from them.
Search operations in the suspect’s home led police officers to find the two passports, as well as three driving licences bearing the names of French, Portuguese, and Italian citizens.
Security services also confiscated sums of money in Moroccan dirham and in foreign currencies, suspected to result from the suspect’s alleged crimes.
Moroccan police are set to coordinate with security services in Portugal, France, and Italy, as well as the INTERPOL, to determine the source of the identity documents found in the suspect’s home.
Meanwhile, the fraud suspect will remain in custody until Morocco’s security services finish their investigations.
