Moroccan authorities seize 3 tonnes of cannabis resin

As Morocco ramps up its war on drugs, the police foiled a major international trafficking scheme of cannabis on February 11, DayFR Euro reported. 

Police at the Tangier-Mediterranean port (located 45km northeast of the northern city of Tangier and opposite of the Spanish province of Cadiz) managed to seize roughly 3.2 tonnes of chira, commonly referred to as cannabis resin, in collaboration with the Customs services. Chira is a cannabis concentrate made from the resin of a live cannabis plant.  

Morocco has had an ever-present drug problem with numerous traffickers either successfully getting illegal substances into Moroccan territory or getting busted by authorities. 

The General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) noted that the recent cannabis seizure was achieved as a result of border control operations and extensive searches. The substance was carefully concealed inside the trailer of an international goods lorry, already loaded with fish that was set to leave via sea to a Spanish port. 

READ: Morocco: 4.6 tonnes of cannabis seized by authorities

DGSN added that the truck driver, who is of Moroccan nationality, was arrested and then taken into custody as part of a judicial investigation led by local police and under the watch of the public prosecutor’s office. 

The authorities are now looking at who else was involved in the dubious activity as well as the sanctions that those involved will face. 

In a similar case in November last year, the DGSN intercepted 4.6 tonnes of cannabis resin in Casablanca. The pair involved in the smuggling were heavily linked to an international trafficking network and were promptly arrested. 

Despite a ban on all drugs since the 1970s, Morocco has historically been known for its cultivation of cannabis and data from 2016 found that the country was the biggest producer of the substance worldwide. 

The DGSN have stressed that they are working tirelessly to crack down on drug trafficking schemes given Morocco’s problems with said networks. 

DayFR Euro