Cheap Cocaine Alternative ’L’boufa’ Fuels Health and Crime Concerns in Morocco

The fight against the "Boufa" or "poor man’s cocaine" drug requires the strengthening of legal and institutional frameworks, and the imposition of harsher sanctions against traffickers, especially those involved in cocaine trafficking or those indirectly responsible for the death of consumers, which is an important first step, reveals a report published by the Institute for Security Studies in Africa. The latter estimates that the sentences imposed on distributors and major barons of this drug are lighter. Distributors receive prison sentences ranging from six months to one year only, while major traffickers who can be sentenced for a period of up to 30 years are generally sentenced to a maximum of 10 years in prison, it specifies.

The report also highlights the security operations carried out in the fight against "Boufa", the new drug, "considered one of the most dangerous", which "invades certain areas of Moroccan cities, particularly popular and disadvantaged neighborhoods." Between August and September of last year, 112 "Boufa" drug traffickers were arrested, and about 1413 kilograms of drugs were seized in a coordinated operation covering different Moroccan cities. Six criminal drug networks operating across the country were also dismantled. In July 2023, 15 people were arrested in Casablanca. They were in possession of the tools and ingredients necessary for the manufacture of "Boufa". In total, 1371 kilograms of cocaine smuggled into the country from Spain were intercepted in October by the security forces.

Despite the cases handled, the arrests and seizures, the authorities still have a long way to go to eradicate the problem, notes the Institute for Security Studies in Africa.