Rabat – Morocco’s Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) arrested 11 multinational suspects in Tangier on Wednesday morning. The suspects were reportedly in possession of cannabis resin and had been distributing the illegal substance in a residential villa outside of Tangier.
Two of the international suspects hailed from Albania, while three originated from Romania.
In a tweet, the DGSN noted that officers arrested the suspects “on suspicion of their association with a criminal network active in international drug smuggling.” The tweet displayed the hashtag #Fight_Drug_Trafficking in Arabic.
<blockquote class=”twitter-tweet”><p lang=”ar” dir=”rtl”><a href=”https://twitter.com/hashtag/%D9%85%D9%83%D8%A7%D9%81%D8%AD%D8%A9_%D8%AA%D8%B1%D9%88%D9%8A%D8%AC_%D8%A7%D9%84%D9%85%D8%AE%D8%AF%D8%B1%D8%A7%D8%AA?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>#مكافحة_ترويج_المخدرات</a><br>توقيف أحد عشر (11) شخصا، من بينهم مواطنون من جنسية رومانية وألبانية، للاشتباه في ارتباطهم بشبكة إجرامية تنشط في التهريب الدولي للمخدرات، وحجز عينات من مخدر الشيرا موجهة للعرض لفائدة الزبائن المفترضين لهذا النشاط الإجرامي على المستوى الدولي. <a href=”https://t.co/EJ8IIegDlh”>pic.twitter.com/EJ8IIegDlh</a></p>— DGSN MAROC (@DGSN_MAROC) <a href=”https://twitter.com/DGSN_MAROC/status/1410212908013862919?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>June 30, 2021</a></blockquote> <script async src=”https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js” charset=”utf-8″></script>
Not only did the DGSN confiscate the cannabis resin, officers also recovered mobile phones, lump sums of Moroccan dirham, and five suspicious vehicles. All five vehicles were registered in Morocco but authorities must verify the legal status of the smuggler’s property.
According to the Moroccan state news MAP, police detained the suspects at the scene of the crime before conducting a thorough search e of the property.
The Moroccan police force has been vigilant in the fight against drug trafficking, and the force’s efforts focus on intercepting narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances.
In May 2021, Moroccan police in Tangier arrested a 62-year-old individual who transported 361,672 psychotropic tablets, and over 4.47 kilograms of cocaine from Spain. The drug mule arrived at Morocco’s Tanger-Med Port from Spain’s Algeciras Port.
Read also: Morocco Thwarts Cocaine, Psychotropic Tablets Trafficking Attempt From Spain
Tangier is a large hub for drug trafficking networks due to its close proximity to Spain and other Mediterannean sea ports.
According to Michael Peraldi, author of Criminal Economies and Business Worlds in Tangier, “Tangier will be, even after the independence of Morocco, a place of refuge and activity for business worlds bordering on banditry, as much as a market place and transit for frankly criminal activities.”
