Rabat — Moroccan police arrested a Russian citizen at Casablanca’s Mohammed V International Airport today.
The 34-year-old suspect was subject to an Interpol arrest warrant, flagging him as wanted by Russian authorities.
Security officers detained the suspect immediately after he arrived on a flight from Mauritania.
A routine search through Interpol’s database showed that Russia’s National Central Bureau in Moscow had issued an international arrest warrant for him.
Russian judicial authorities want the man to serve a prison sentence on suspicion of his involvement with a terrorist organization, according to Moroccan security officials.
Morocco’s National Central Bureau, Interpol Rabat, which operates under the Directorate General of National Security, has notified its Russian counterpart about the arrest.
The suspect now remains in police custody while authorities process his extradition. Moroccan prosecutors have ordered this detention as they work through the required legal procedures to hand him over to Russia.
The arrest demonstrates Morocco’s commitment to international security cooperation, particularly in tracking down and detaining individuals wanted for cross-border crimes.
Moroccan security services regularly work with Interpol and partner nations to apprehend suspects who travel through the country’s airports and borders.
Morocco has recorded a sharp increase in airport arrests linked to Interpol warrants throughout 2025, with security forces detaining suspects wanted for crimes ranging from drug trafficking to terrorism at Mohammed V International Airport and other entry points.
Recent cases include the arrest in May of a Swedish suspect wanted for violent sexual assaults, and a detention in April of three individuals of Chinese, Ukrainian, and Lithuanian nationalities wanted by American authorities for drug trafficking and money laundering.
In August, police arrested a 43-year-old Turkish man suspected of cocaine trafficking at the request of German authorities.
Morocco has strengthened its role in international security cooperation, as the country’s DGSN processed more than 6,800 international cooperation requests in 2024 alone, with Spain accounting for 37% of these requests and France for 28%.
Morocco currently serves as Vice-President of Interpol for Africa, a position it secured with support from 96 member states.
