The coast guard of Morocco’s Royal Navy curbed an international drug trafficking operation in the Mediterranean after a high-speed boat chase.
The operation took place on November 5, at approximately 4 a.m., and led Moroccan security services to seize one and a half tonnes of cannabis resin.
Morocco’s navy confiscated the drugs after the suspected drug traffickers who were on board a high-speed boat threw them in the sea.
The suspects escaped after reaching international waters, Morocco’s state media reported, citing a military source.
The suspects also threw overboard a bag suspected to contain other types of narcotics, but Morocco’s coast guard officers were unable to retrieve it.
The retrieved cannabis resin was separated into 44 different packages. After the operation, Morocco’s Royal Navy transferred the confiscated drugs to the Royal Gendarmerie.
Morocco, due to its geographic location, represents a strategic gateway for international drug traffickers to import and export drugs. Morocco’s various security bodies, both civil and military, have intensified their efforts in recent years to prevent drug smuggling.
In 2019, Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) arrested more than 420,000 suspects for drug trafficking, including approximately 331,000 caught in possession of drugs and 89,000 arrested after prosecution issued national arrest warrants. The total number of arrests grew by 38% between 2018 and 2019.
Cannabis resin—a dried substance made from the cannabis plant—is the most trafficked drug in the country. In 2019, Moroccan security services seized 179,657 tonnes of cannabis and its derivatives.
Moroccan police also seized 542,455 kilograms of cocaine, 7,196 kilograms of heroin, and 1,407,451 psychotropic tablets last year. The majority of psychotropic pills trafficked in Morocco are imported from Europe.
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