Morocco biggest drug swoops netted about 100 people

Two Moroccan courts Monday began hearing suspects after one of the country's biggest drug swoops netted about 100 people, a source close to the investigation said. A military court in Rabat started questioning some 70 members of the army and police force, while 30 civilians began appearing before a Casablanca court. The detainees were suspected of drug trafficking, corruption and failing to report criminal offences. The network smuggled drugs from the northern city of Nador to Spain and other European countries, the source said. He described the arrests, which began in January, as a big blow to drug trafficking in Morocco. The north African country is the world's second biggest hashish producer after Afghanistan.

Moroccan police said they had seized a small airplane carrying 1.6 tonnes (1,600 kilos) of hashish in the north of the country

Moroccan police said they had seized a small airplane carrying 1.6 tonnes (1,600 kilos) of hashish in the north of the country, MAP news agency reported.
The shipment was caught in a police air operation Thursday night after the plane had managed to escape once earlier, said MAP.Police were still searching for the plane's owners.The announcement of the bust came on the same day Spanish police announced they had broken up one of the country's biggest drug trafficking rings which had been bringing in drugs from Morocco.Spanish police said they arrested 44 suspects believed to have shipped hashish from Morocco to Spain, before trafficking it to other European nations.
In June, a helicopter travelling from Fes, Morocco, was caught in the south of France carrying 560 kilos (0.6 tonnes) of cannibis resin.

Burnt bodies of two Spaniards have been found in a forest in Morocco

Burnt bodies of two Spaniards have been found in a forest in Morocco. The Spaniards are both of Berber origin and were found close to the border with Melilla in a place called Mariguari, according to police sources. One of the two was identified by an ear-ring, but their identity has not yet been released by police. An autopsy is to be carried out, but it’s believed the two men in their 20’s went missing from their homes in Melilla last July 12.

Police in Spain said Wednesday they had seized 4.2 tonnes of hashish in the south of the country and arrested nine suspected drug traffickers.

Police in Spain said Wednesday they had seized 4.2 tonnes of hashish in the south of the country and arrested nine suspected drug traffickers. The drugs were found in April on two speedboats, one carrying 2.4 tonnes of hashish and the other 1.8 tonnes, police said in a statement. Police also seized 1.2 million euros (1.9 million US dollars), four vehicles as well as several guns and documents during 18 searches carried out as part of their probe of the group which is suspected of smuggling hashish from Morocco. They did not give an estimated street value for the drugs. Morocco is believed to be one of the world's largest producers of hashish. It has vowed to crack down on trafficking and toughened border controls in recent years. Spain, with its extensive coastline, is Europe's main entry point for Moroccan hashish and cocaine from South America, mostly from its former colony Colombia, the world's top producer of the drug.

Morocco has seized 3.477 tons of hashish on a rubber boat

Morocco has seized 3.477 tons of hashish on a rubber boat apparently bound for Europe on the Mediterranean coast, state MAP news agency reported on Wednesday.
In one of the biggest hashish hauls of the North African country, the Moroccan marine on Tuesday night intercepted the tons of hashish arranged in 128 parcels and put in an inflatable boat with three strong engines, local authorities was quoted as saying. None of the boat occupants was arrested, as they managed to flee when the marine agents raided in, the report said. Morocco is one of the world's major providers of hashish. Tons of the banned substance are seized each year mostly in northern port cities, with the bulk destined for Europe.

Factory fire kills 55 in Morocco

fire roared through a mattress factory yesterday, killing 55 people and injuring a dozen others, the official news agency reported. Most of the deaths occurred on the building's third floor where women sew, according to a worker who escaped.
Rachida Darif, 29, said she saved herself by crawling through a space to the roof, then jumping down from a neighboring building that was under construction. She said she used a construction cord to lower herself part way and then jumped.
About 100 people were in the factory when the fire broke out about 10 a.m. and quickly spread through the four-story building, according to the news agency. Chemical products in the factory added to the fury of the flames. The cause of the blaze was not immediately known

Liberian national has been arrested in the Moroccan city of Casablanca with 1.5 kg of cocaine

A Liberian national has been arrested in the Moroccan city of Casablanca with 1.5 kg of cocaine, police sources said in Rabat on Friday. The Liberian, whose identity was not indicated, was caught red-handed in a boule vard in Casablanca, while he was selling the drug. According to the police, the culprit confessed that he decided to sell the drug in Morocco instead of smuggling it into Europe and had been dealing in it between Rabat and Casablanca.

British girl arrested for drug trafficking in Morocco

A young English lady was arrested on Wednesday while trying to sail from the Tangiers Port (northern Morocco) for Algésiras (southern Spain) with 10 kg of chira (cannabis resin).The drug was found in a cache set up in the front of a Spanish-registered four-wheel drive vehicle, a Moroccan security source said without disclosing the identity of the British national.Some 70% of the processed kif (cannabis) in Europe comes from Morocco.