Morocco’s Court Detains 20 People for International Drug Trafficking

Rabat – The investigating judge at the Casablanca Court of Appeal has decided to place 20 people in prison after their preliminary interrogation, while another person was subjected to judicial supervision in an international drug trafficking case, the King’s Attorney General at this court announced on Sunday.

This decision involves 20 people out of the 25 people referred to the prosecution, some of whom are parliamentarians, officials of local authorities or in charge of law enforcement, in addition to others allegedly involved with a foreign detainee who was prosecuted in an international drug trafficking case and who is currently serving his sentence in prison, the King’s Attorney General said in a press release.

“In keeping with the principle of equality before the law, the results of the investigations led the Public Prosecutor’s Office to submit a request to the investigating judge to carry out investigations against them on suspicion of committing each of the acts of which they are legally accused, and which can be summed up as a set of crimes, including participation in an agreement to possess, transport, export and attempt to export drugs, corruption, forgery of official documents, direct exercise of physical and individual control to satisfy personal whims, obtaining documents under duress, facilitating the exit and entry of Moroccan citizens to and from Moroccan territory on a regular basis as part of a gang and agreement and concealment of assets acquired by crime”, the same source added.

  As part of the right to information, the Public Prosecutor’s Office will continue to communicate the results of investigation procedures to the public once they have been completed, in strict compliance with legal requirements and in accordance with the rule of law and respect for the presumption of innocence.