Rabat – On Thursday, members of the Prefectural Criminal Investigation Department in Settat, a small city in the Casablanca region, arrested the driver of a commercial vehicle suspected of attempting to divert a quantity of consumer goods donated as part of the solidarity campaign for earthquake victims.
The national security services responded quickly and seriously to a tip-off from a cab driver, the central directorate of Moroccan police said in a statement on X, formerly Twitter. The suspect had offered the stolen products to the taxi driver at a very low price, which made him doubt the origin and nature of the goods for sale, the statement noted.
Searches and investigations led to the arrest of the suspect and the seizure of the goods, which he had received from a civil society association in Rabat in order to transport them in his commercial vehicle to the areas affected by the earthquake for a fee.
The suspect was placed in police custody pending a judicial investigation under the supervision of the Public Prosecutor’s Office to determine the reasons for these criminal acts.
On Thursday, three people were also detained by Moroccan judicial police in Temara, a city near Rabat, for their alleged involvement in the theft of humanitarian aid intended for the victims of the terrible earthquake.
The suspects were a truck driver, his assistant, and a grocery store owner, who were accused of stealing humanitarian aid and breach of trust, among other charges.
An activist who was suspicious of the truck driver and his assistant reported their suspicions to the police, stating that the items had been “deposited in a commercial store located in the city of Temara.”
Read also: Earthquake Relief: Moroccan Police Donate $4.9 Million to Special Fund
