Former Wydad Casablanca President Demands Key Witnesses in Major Drug Trafficking Trial

The trial of Saïd Naciri continues before the first instance criminal chamber at the Casablanca Court of Appeal. The hearing on Friday, April 25, 2025, was marked by tense exchanges, reports Hespress. The reason being that Saïd Naciri not only requested direct confrontation with several parties mentioned in the case, including singer Latifa Raâfat and the deputy of the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), Abderrahmane Chouki, but he also asked for the appearance of the "Desert Escobar" himself. He explained his actions by the desire to respond point by point to the statements attributed to him in the judicial police reports.

However, these requests made without prior authorization provoked the annoyance of Judge Ali Tarchi. "You can only speak with the permission of the presidency," the magistrate said firmly, invoking the Penal Code regarding the management of hearings. Naciri had to apologize to the Court. "I never intended to disrespect the presidency, I have great respect for this honorable institution," he declared.

The judge confronted Saïd Naciri with other elements of the case, particularly the accusations of Ahmed Benbrahim. The latter had claimed to have given him a large sum in an upscale restaurant in Casablanca. These accusations were flatly rejected by the former president of Wydad Casablanca. "These are unfounded allegations," he assured, specifying that on the presumed date of the events, the cited restaurant did not even exist yet.

During the hearing on April 18 at the first instance criminal chamber near the Casablanca Court of Appeal, Naciri refuted the accusations against him based on the statements of the Malian trafficker. He denounced a "conspiracy" and stated that the documents presented in the file are "falsified". He affirmed that the acquisition of the California villa was effective in 2017, through a real estate company he jointly owns with his son.