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Police in Rabat dismantled, a few months ago, a network suspected of stolen auto-parts trafficking in Morocco. Aged between 28 and 29 years old, the six individuals who run said cell have all turned out to be employees of Auto Nejma, a historic company selling and repairing cars in Morocco.
In some complaints, the legal liability of the company was mentioned, as the defendants would have used their positions within the firm to carry out their activities, targeting vehicles being repaired by their employer.
According to investigators, the technicians and employees involved would have changed the original parts of cars under maintenance, in order to replace them with others of lesser value, bought from the black market or in stores in northern Morocco, especially in Nador.
Heard by the Public Prosecutor's Office in Rabat, four of the defendants were arrested while two others are on bail. All are suspected of participating in a «criminal association and robbery».
It all started with complaints from clients, including entrepreneurs, influential figures and members of the diplomatic corps in Rabat. Indeed, they would have suspected inconsistencies in the parts changed or repaired in the company's garages.
Accidents would have made it possible to camouflage the trafficking activities
Consulted by Yabiladi, one of these complaints was initially addressed to the Casablanca commercial court. A plaintiff requested the payment of compensation from the company. The complaint comes after the same person brought his car to the company for a routine maintenance visit. He then received a letter, of which Yabiladi holds a copy, in which the company informed him of «a traffic accident (…) that occurred during a trip to the parking lot» from the Auto Nejma workshops in Rabat.
However, after comparing the description of the accident as presented by the company with the condition of the car, a technical expert report concluded that it was necessary to repair the «seriously damaged vehicle». «The damage observed (...) was caused by a very violent blow against a vehicle or a fixed object», indicates the document.
The same report also showed that the damage done to the car, that supposedly hit the client’s vehicle in the parking lot, was not as damaged as presented by Auto Nejma. Such a violent crash would have resulted on both cars sustaining serious damage.
The plaintiff adds that, taking into account technical elements and legal provisions limiting the speed in the garages, «this shock would have occurred outside the garage of the company Auto Nejma». The impact speed would thus have «reached or even exceeded 60 km/h». According to the findings on the scene, the customer accompanied by a bailiff was prohibited from taking videos to document the condition of his car.
Likewise, he was reportedly warned that one of the rear airbags in his vehicle was in danger of explosion, which would confirm that the vehicle was going at a high speed at the time of the accident. Faced with the revelations about the dismantling of the trafficking network, the client among other plaintiffs suspected that these accidents would have allowed the suspects to cover their criminal activities.
Contacted Tuesday by Yabiladi, the management of Auto Nejma in Rabat said that they would not be able to comment on these cases, «as long as the case is still being handled by the court».
