Escobar of the Sahara trial: Saïd Naciri sentenced to 10 years, Abdenbi Bioui to 12

The trial in the so-called «Escobar of the Sahara» case concluded on Thursday evening with first-instance verdicts handed down by the Criminal Chamber of the Casablanca Court of Appeal. Saïd Naciri, former president of Wydad Athletic Club (WAC) and a former MP for the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), was sentenced to 10 years in prison, while Abdenbi Bioui, former president of the Oriental Regional Council and also a former PAM member, received a 12-year prison sentence.

The verdicts were delivered in the absence of the defendants' lawyers, who were taking part in a strike organized by members of the Casablanca Bar in protest against a draft law regulating the legal profession. The bill was introduced by Justice Minister Abdellatif Ouahbi, the former secretary-general of PAM.

The case, known as the «Escobar of the Sahara» affair, emerged after Ahmed Ben Ibrahim, a Malian national imprisoned in El Jadida on international drug trafficking charges, accused Naciri and Bioui of involvement in his criminal network, prompting a wide-ranging judicial investigation.

The trial opened on May 23, 2024, before the Casablanca Court of Appeal and spanned dozens of hearings before the first-instance verdict was delivered.