Manhunt in Morocco: Radical Islamists Among Suspects in $140,000 Armored Van Heist

The robbery took place on the road connecting Tit-Mellil to Mediouna, in the outskirts of Casablanca. A group of six individuals followed a vehicle transporting the sum of 1.4 million dirhams before robbing it, reports the Arabic daily Assabah. Two radical Islamists, merchants in a very renowned market in Casablanca, took an active part in the robbery of this armored transport van. Among the four other alleged robbers, there is a repeat offender listed as "very dangerous", who was sentenced by the El Jadida court to 10 years in prison for armed robbery. A national arrest warrant has been issued against him for three years.

These alleged robbers are still being sought by a special brigade of the Royal Gendarmerie, with weapons and bulletproof vests and especially permission to shoot if necessary. The raids carried out in several houses where the robbers could have taken refuge and the cordoning off of a neighborhood in Mediouna yielded nothing. The security services fear that the two radical Islamists will use the stolen money to finance a possible terrorist attack project.