Morocco seizes 9.5 tons of chira at Sidi Allal El-Bahraoui toll station

Elements of the national Brigade of the judicial police managed Monday morning, in collaboration with the prefectural Service of the judicial police of Meknes and on the basis of precise information provided by the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), to foil a major drug trafficking operation and seize 9.5 tons of chira.

This qualitative operation was conducted in coordination on the ground with elements of the Royal Gendarmerie at the toll station of the Sidi Allal El-Bahraoui highway, where a refrigerated truck carrying a total of 380 bundles of drugs of about 9.5 tons hidden in a shipment of food products was intercepted, said the national police (DGSN) in a statement.

The driver of the truck used in this trafficking operation has been arrested, added the statement, reporting the seizure of a sum of MAD 31,800, suspected to be originated from the activities related to these criminal acts.

The suspect has been placed in police custody to complete the investigation conducted under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor's office, in order to determine all the local and international ramifications of this criminal activity and elucidate the ins and outs of this case, the DGSN noted.

This operation is part of sustained efforts made by security services to combat various forms of transnational crime, including international drug trafficking networks, the DGSN concluded.