Rabat – Police at the Tanger Med Port have arrested a Swedish national of South American origin, wanted under an international arrest warrant for his alleged involvement in drug trafficking.
Police arrested the suspect on Saturday while they were attempting to leave Morocco by boat, heading to one of the Spanish ports.
Security services at the port identified the suspect during a routine check, showing that the Interpol database has the defendant subjected to an international search under a red notice issued by Swedish judicial authorities.
The suspect was arrested due to his alleged involvement in an international drug trafficking case involving a shipment of cocaine that Swedish police seized in 2023. They are now in custody as part of the extradition procedure, and police notified the Swedish judicial authorities pending the submission of the extradition file.
The arrest is part of Morocco’s larger efforts to combat international drug trafficking and is part of the country’s security cooperation with Interpol. Morocco has made several similar arrests throughout the year as part of its commitment to this partnership.
In May of last year, Interpol cited that the North African country has participated in around 20 significant security operations worldwide, recalling the unanimous choice of Morocco to host the 93rd General Assembly of Interpol in 2025 in Marrakech.
Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) processed more than 6,800 international cooperation requests in 2024 alone.
Of these, 10% are related to drug cases, 9% to irregular migration, 25% to the bilateral exploitation of personal data databases, and 36% to information requests. According to DGSN data, Spain accounted for 37% of these requests, followed by France with 28%.
Morocco’s Interpol National Central Bureau processed over 7,000 requests, helping recover 380 stolen vehicles and contributing to 135 arrests through international judicial cooperation.
The country has also shown its commitment to law enforcement throughout extraditions.
Morocco extradited 82 individuals in 2024, a 52% increase compared to the previous year, and arrested 45 foreign nationals based on international warrants.
