Rabat- An international transport truck registered in Morocco was seized on Thursday, September 23, by judicial police of the Tanger-Med security district following an attempt to traffic 22.8 kilograms of cocaine.
In a press release, the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) announced that its counter-measures operations enabled the seizure of a large quantity of “well-stuffed” cocaine inside household equipment after it arrived at the port of Tanger-Med from a Spanish port.
According to the DGSN statement, the 26-year-old driver of the truck was arrested under the supervision of a state prosecutor. The man was taken into custody at the prefectural police of the judicial police of Tangier, pending further investigations in the case.
The operation is part of Morocco’s national security services’ intensive effort to combat international drug trafficking, in particular psychotropic tablets introduced from Europe.
A report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) ranks Morocco in sixth place worldwide in terms of the number of psychoactive substances seized every year.
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In another similar operation in July of this year, Morocco’s police and customs agents arrested a 54-year old man for possessing 2.85 kilograms of cocaine at the Tanger-Med Port.
According to the DGSN, the suspect was arrested upon his arrival from a Spanish port aboard a boat.
Upon searching the man’s vehicle, police discovered cocaine and a large amount of cash in euros.
After placing the suspect into custody, police conducted a further investigation to identify as many local and international accomplices in the case as possible.
A report from the DSN reported that Morocco’s security services seized 132 kilograms and 167 grams of cocaine in 2020 alone.
Tangier has long been a major trafficking hub for drugs due to its close proximity to Spain and other Mediterranean seaports.
According to Michael Peraldi, author of a 2007 paper on “criminal economies” in Tangier, “Tangier will be, even after the independence of Morocco, a place of refuge and activity for business worlds bordering on banditry, as much as a marketplace and transit for frankly criminal activities.”
Read Also: Morocco Arrests 2 Africans with 3.7 Kilograms of Cocaine in Stomachs
