Drug Trafficking Ring Busted: 7 Arrested in Morocco for Kidnapping and Extortion

Since the arrest of these individuals, the investigation opened has already allowed the security forces to realize that "the suspects kidnapped and sequestered an individual and his driver in the Belfaa region, near Agadir, at the request of two people detained in a penitentiary institution," according to the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN).

In a press release, the police institution states that it is as part of a settling of scores between drug traffickers that "the kidnappers took the two victims to Guelmim where they held them hostage, before demanding a ransom of millions of centimes from the family of one of them," reports the MAP.

In addition to the arrest of the seven defendants, the security services in Guelmim had seized, on July 11, an amount of 1,158,200 dirhams, which is part of the ransom intended for the kidnappers. The continuation of the investigation also led to the seizure in Casablanca of an amount estimated at 698,100 dirhams, suspected of being part of the ransom demanded.

The accused were brought before the Public Prosecutor’s Office of the Court of Appeal of Agadir and sent to prison. The searches and investigations also led to the arrest of the victim, who was placed in custody for his alleged complicity in these criminal acts. The investigations and inquiries are continuing, in order to identify any accomplices involved in this case and its ramifications in several Moroccan cities, the same source specifies.