Moroccan police foiled an international drug-trafficking operation on Wednesday 27 April 2022 and seized a record 31,197 kg of chira (cannabis resin) in a warehouse in Badriouyene on the Rabat road at the exit of Tangier.[1][2] The Beni Makada judicial-police brigade carried out the raid in coordination with the Tangier prefectural judicial police, citing a Directorate General of National Security (DGSN) statement.[2]
The resin had been packaged and stuffed inside fruit-and-vegetable figurines whose colours and sizes were meant to let it leave Morocco disguised as agricultural produce for export.[1][2] Officers also seized a large refrigerated trailer holding dozens of bags and bales of hashish.[1][2]
A 61-year-old man with a criminal record was arrested on suspicion of links to the trafficking network and placed in custody while investigations into its regional and international ramifications continued.[1][2] The Tangier police prefecture described the raid as part of the DGSN strategy against cross-border crime.[2] More than 191 tonnes of cannabis resin had been seized in 2021, down 12 percent from 2020, according to official figures cited in the report.[1]
