Morocco’s judicial police in Casablanca, acting on intelligence from the DGST territorial surveillance agency, stopped two utility vehicles loaded with cannabis resin on the outer Casablanca highway in the early hours of Wednesday 27 March 2024.[1][2] Officers seized 10.3 tonnes of chira, which was handed over to customs for processing.[1][2]
The driver of the second vehicle refused to stop, and his companion threatened officers and bystanders by firing several shots from a hunting rifle with a loaded cartridge belt.[1] An anti-gang officer fired four warning shots before a fifth shot incapacitated the gunman; he later died of his injuries and his body was taken to the morgue for autopsy.[1][2] Police also confiscated the hunting rifle and ammunition used against them.[1]
Three suspects were arrested and placed in custody while prosecutors opened a judicial investigation to uncover the wider network behind the shipment.[1] Both outlets describe the haul as bound for international trafficking by sea.[1][2]
