Rabat- Mounir Erramach, the alleged former head of the notorious Tetouan drug cartel, was released from Sale’s central prison on Thursday morning.
At 51, Erramach had been serving a twenty-year sentence handed down in December 2004 on charges including international drug trafficking, forming a criminal gang, possession of firearms, and corruption. He was additionally ordered to pay a MAD 3.372 billion fine to the Customs Administration.
Erramach’s case was tried before the Special Court of Justice (CSJ), a tribunal criticized for being an exceptional jurisdiction before its eventual dissolution. His release raises concerns about the long-term implications of his imprisonment and the current state of organized crime in the region.
During Erramach’s trial, twenty-four defendants, including Mohamed Sekkouri, the former police prefect of Tangier, were sentenced to various prison terms ranging from eight months to life imprisonment.
The trial shed light on Erramach’s role in dismantling a network of 22 corrupt officials, including judges and police officers. His cartel, established in Tetouan, emerged a year after the capture of another prominent drug trafficker, Hmidou Dib, in 1996.
Erramach’s criminal career began early. Born in 1973, he started smuggling cigarettes in Tetouan at the age of 12, importing them from Ceuta. He soon became embroiled in gang conflicts over territorial control. During one such altercation, he stabbed a boy of his own age and left him for dead in the street, leading to his arrest and ten-month detention.
With a gentlemanly appearance, Erramach led a double life in the underworld of Ceuta and Tangier. By age 16, he was mingling with various criminals and became addicted to new drugs that had recently appeared in Europe.
