Ahmed Ben Brahim He is the drug trafficker who has made political, football and business figures in Morocco tremble. Since 2023, he began to collaborate with the justice system in that country from prison, where he has remained for four years, given that, according to him, third parties were taking advantage of the fortune he created with his illicit activities.
Newscasts around the world dubbed him the 'Pablo Escobar of the Sahara', given the connections with powerful personalities he made to strengthen his criminal activity.
(Be sure to read: Mancuso, the former warlord that the Government brings to the country as a peace manager).
Although originally from Mali, Brahim built his empire in Morocco, trafficking cannabis powder and other drugs. He even moved in several areas of West Africa – such as Libya and Egypt – where he moved cocaine from Latin America to Europe.
December 21, 2023, this 'godfather of drugs' gave the authorities a list of names that allowed the arrest of 25 people, of whom 20 were imprisoned and one was under judicial supervision, according to international media coverage.
(Of interest: Navy seized a million-dollar shipment of marijuana on a Venezuelan vessel).
They have also been investigating different real estate developers, businessmen and police, who are not only related to drug trafficking but also to money laundering. The confessions have shaken the credibility of the Moroccan authorities and brought to light the connection between drug trafficking networks and political figures in the country.
The drug trafficker previously paid another four years in prison in Mauritania and when he left there in 2019, he returned to Morocco, where the authorities of that country arrested him and sentenced him to 10 years.
Furthermore, by January 2024, his confessions allowed investigators to turn their attention to deputy Saïd Naciri, who is the former president of the Casablanca football club, and former deputy Abdenbi Bioui.
Supposedly, for his capture he fell into a trap that Said Naciri and Abdenebi Biioui had prepared for him, who are also deputies of the Modernity Party, of the Moroccan government coalition. and whom he later named in his testimony and accused of conspiring against him to confiscate his assets.
(In other topics: Adolescent who was forcibly recruited, escaped and surrendered to the Military Forces).
🇲🇦⚽️|The Affair “Pablo Escobar du Sahara” includes Saïd Naiciri, patron of Wydad and Abdenbi Bioui, president of the Oriental
The BNPJ arrested 2 people responsible for international drug trafficking. pic.twitter.com/KWwaFU7Uqu
— Moroccan History 🇲🇦۞ (@MoroccanSories) December 25, 2023
Now, Naciri and Bioui have several accusations, not only for international drug trafficking but for money laundering and diversion and the falsification of official documents, according to local media.
From being a pastor to a drug trafficker responsible for a large transnational criminal network. 'El Mali' in his youth began working in the sale of cars between Europe and Africa, which allowed him to be knowledgeable about the trade routes between both continents.
Later, he entered the gold industry, where he learned details about organized crime, and then moved on to drug trafficking. He accumulated a fortune that allowed him to indulge in all kinds of luxuries and own properties in Guinea, Brazil, Russia, Bolivia and Casablanca.
ELIM J ALONSO
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