فاس نيوز ميديا جريدة الكترونية جهوية تعنى بشؤون و أخبار جهة فاس مكناس – متجددة على مدار الساعة
Tangier – In a high-stakes security operation that thwarted an international smuggling attempt, the Tangier Provincial Judicial Police Service announced, on Wednesday evening, the launch of a wide-ranging judicial investigation under the supervision of the competent public prosecutor’s office. The investigation aims to uncover the network of a cross-border criminal syndicate involved in an attempt to smuggle large shipments of cocaine to Europe via the Tangier Med port.
This judicial inquiry was launched following a successful operation carried out by security services at the Tangier Med port. The operation successfully foiled a major smuggling attempt, leading to the seizure of 47 plates of pure cocaine, with a total weight of 52 kilograms and 296 grams.
Operation Details: Seizure from a Shipping Container’s Cooling System
According to security sources, customs and police elements at the port professionally discovered the drug shipment, which had been carefully concealed inside the cooling system of a maritime shipping container. The container was loaded onto a large foreign-flagged vessel arriving from Brazil and was en route to a European port, attempting to use its passage through Moroccan territorial waters to execute the smuggling operation.
The sources added that preliminary chemical analyses conducted immediately on samples of the seized substance at the port confirmed it was cocaine. To complete legal procedures and determine the technical specifics of the shipment, additional samples were sent to the National Forensic Science and Technical Laboratory to accurately determine the concentration level of the narcotic substance.
A Wide-Ranging International Investigation in Coordination with Interpol
In a move that underscores the international scope of the criminal network, Moroccan authorities did not limit their investigation to the local level but expanded the scope of the inquiry to include transcontinental dimensions. In this context, the Interpol office in Rabat has been tasked with coordinating immediately with its counterparts in the country from which the ship departed (Brazil), as well as the country of its final destination. The goal is to uncover all international extensions and connections of this organized crime network.
This international investigation is of paramount importance to identify all parties involved in the operation, whether at the level of planning, financing, or execution, and to dismantle their logistical infrastructure, which aimed to use Morocco merely as a transit point for drugs bound for European markets.
A Crippling Blow to Smuggling Networks
This successful operation is considered a crippling blow to international smuggling networks that attempt to exploit Morocco’s strategic location and its advanced logistical infrastructure. It reaffirms the vigilance of Moroccan security and customs services and the efficiency of the monitoring and control mechanisms in place at the nation’s ports, particularly the Tangier Med port, which serves as a major economic and security gateway for the Kingdom.
