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Rabat – Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) has released their annual report, outlining their services and operations against organized crime and terrorism in the past year.
Counterterrorism
The report said the national judicial police division referred 38 people this year to the public prosecutor in charge of terror cases for their involvement in terrorism and violent extremism.
The DGSN is part of the units primarily involved in Morocco’s counterterrorism approach. Security officials and the government are not the only bodies to commend the DGSN on their service efforts in the field.
The US State Department Counter Terrorism report for 2020 mentioned DGSN’s contribution to Morocco’s efforts against the scourge of terrorism.
“Moroccan law enforcement leveraged intelligence collection, police work, and collaboration with international partners to conduct counterterrorism operations,” the State Department said.
The report said DGSN has “primary responsibility” for carrying border inspections at ports and airports.
“Law enforcement officials and private airline carriers worked regularly with the United States to detect and deter individuals attempting to transit illegally and to address watchlisted travelers.”
The report also recalled the contribution of the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), and the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigation (BCIJ), a unit responsible for counterterrorism prosecutions.
Countering irregular migration
In addition to counterterrorism, national police are also engaged in border and migration management.
The DGSN annual report said national security services managed to dismantle 150 criminal networks active in organizing irregular migration.
During the operations, police arrested 415 suspects for irregular migration organizers, as well as 12, 231 would-be migrants.
As part of the country’s efforts against human trafficking, national police seized 742 forged travel documents, 67 infatable boats, in addition to 65 vehicles used for displacing people for irregular migration.
The DGSN findings indicate a decline in violent crime over the past six years, the report noted. Violent crimes did not exceed 4% of the general appearance of crime, as 45,829 cases of the category were recorded.
The operations enabled police to send 31,188 people to court, representing a 15% increase of arrested suspects, the DGSN acknowledged.
Drug trafficking busts
Morocco has been fiercely intensifying efforts against drug trafficking and suspects involved in similar crimes.
The DGSN annual report said that security services handled 82,950 cases related to possession and trafficking of drugs.
According to DGSN data, police referred 103,589 people to courts, including 261 foreigners.
DGSN reported an increase in seized cocaine. This year, police seized 433 tonnes and 433 of cocaine compared to 132 kilograms in 2020.
Police also seized 191 tons and 158 kilograms of cannabis, one of the most used drugs in Morocco.
DGSN said that the amount of hashish seized this year represents a decrease of 12% compared to 2020.
Police seized three kilograms of heroin, a number which also represents a significant decrease of 64 % compared to last year.
Joint security operations between DGSN and the DGST resulted in the seizing of 1,437,362 psychotropic tablets, including 53,756 ecstasy tablets, a record increase of over 201% compared to 2020.
DGSN said that it focused on updating its work plans to adapt to the state of emergency due to COVID-19.
According to the report, the DGSN said it programmed “qualitative and intensive” security operations in a number of cities to preserve citizens’ safety.
