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Rabat – Morocco’s police in Fez arrested today seven suspects for their alleged involvement in several criminal offenses, including extortion and criminal threats.
A statement from the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) said that the arrest operation took place in close coordination between judicial police in Fez and Morocco’s General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST).
The list of suspects includes a former detainee involved with terrorism charges as well as two brothers who “hold extremist ideologies,” the DGSN’s statement said.
The suspects are facing charges for their involvement in committing several crimes, including extortion, and threats to commit misdemeanors and felonies against persons and property.
Special forces of the DGST along with judicial police arrested three of the main suspects and four other accomplices involved in carrying out these acts during simultaneous security operations.
Searches enabled police to seize several types of equipment frequently used in criminal offenses, including various knives, fake administrative stamps, receipts for money transfers, contracts, and documents of questionable authenticity, as well as a motorcycle registered under fake ownership.
Police also seized cash suspected of being linked to extortion.
DGSN said that preliminary data showed that the suspects expose a number of merchants and vegetable sellers in the neighborhoods of the city of Fez to extortion and threatened them to commit felonies and misdemeanors in return for amounts of money.
The suspects also receive money to allow merchants to sell their products. They were also caught deliberately renting a booth out illegally to one of the merchants in exchange for money.
These suspects have also raised suspicions of being involved in inciting a person with numerous criminal records to violently threaten merchants and citizens, in order to facilitate acts of extortion.
DGSN said that the suspects are in custody pending further investigation to determine the circumstances of the case and arrest any other potential accomplices involved in the case.
In an annual report in 2022, DGSN reported a 30% drop in crimes recorded last year.
According to DGSN, over 875,879 people involved in the crimes faced public prosecution across Morocco. Crimes of violent nature did not exceed 6.59% of the total cases that police handled throughout the year.
