The directorate explained in a statement this week that the proportion of narcotic drug seizures “knew a record rise in cocaine, after national security services seized 433 kilograms this year, compared to 132 kilograms during the previous year.”
In recent years, the Moroccan police announced the thwarting of several operations to smuggle this drug across the kingdom from South America towards Europe.
The last of these operations was recorded in October, when it was announced that 1,355 kilograms had been seized in the port of Tangiers (north) smuggled from Brazil and intended for smuggling towards Belgium and Britain.
On the other hand, marijuana seizures this year decreased by 12 percent compared to last year. It reached 191 tons and 158 kilograms, according to the same source.
On Wednesday, local media announced the seizure of 12 tons of drugs near the city of Tangiers (north), without specifying their nature by the Royal Gendarmerie, and the arrest of a suspected smuggler.
More than 100,000 people, including 261 foreigners, were arrested this year in cases of “possession and illegal drug trafficking”.
The Kingdom is preparing to legalize the cultivation of the cannabis plant, from which the drug is extracted, for medical and industrial uses, after the House of Representatives adopted in May a bill in this regard.
The project is supposed to enter into force after the issuance of decrees defining the areas in which this cultivation will be allowed.
Although it has been legally prohibited since 1954, this cultivation has been practiced illegally in the northern regions of the Kingdom on an area of approximately 50,000 hectares, from which about half a million people live, with revenues of nearly 325 million euros and a turnover in Europe of about 10.8 billion euros, according to official figures.
Morocco aspires to legalize this cultivation to achieve an annual income of 630 million dollars and to start exporting to Europe by 2028, according to a study by the Ministry of the Interior.
It also seeks to raise farmers’ incomes by about 40 percent. But the use of marijuana for “recreational” purposes is still prohibited by law, despite calls for its legalization.
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