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Join on Telegram Meknes – Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) and General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST) thwarted on December 3 an international attempt to smuggle 8,990 tonnes of cannabis resin in Casablanca.
Judicial police launched the arrest operation on the basis of information provided by the DGST, said a statement from the DGSN, adding that the joint arrest operation took place at a warehouse in rural Douar Moualin El Oued, near Casablanca.
DGSN said the search operation in the warehouse led to the seizure of drugs carefully hidden in large marble blocks, weighing about ten tons each. Smugglers intended to export the marble blocks to an African country.
Police also confiscated large sums of money in national currency, as well as two cars with false license plates, noted the DGSN statement.
Search operations led to the arrest of the main suspect and five other people suspected of being involved in the criminal network.
Two of the five suspects are subject to a national search warrant for their involvement in cases of international drug trafficking, noted the statement, adding that a third suspect is subject to an international arrest warrant issued by the French judicial authorities in a case of voluntary manslaughter.
The suspects have been placed in custody pending an investigation being conducted under the supervision of the prosecutor.
DGSN services have in recent weeks and months significantly increased their efforts in cracking down on drug and human trafficking in Morocco.
Moroccan police seized 217 tonnes and 323 kilograms of cannabis in 2020, an increase of 37 tonnes compared to 2019. In 2020, police also arrested 97, 564 people for their involvement in drug trafficking cases.
Cannabis is among the most popular drugs in Morocco. A report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) showed that Moroccan security services seized approximately 300 tonnes of cannabis plants in 2019.
The figures put Morocco in sixth place worldwide in terms of the number of psychoactive substances seized every year.
