Moroccan Businessman Rescued After Kidnapping and Torture in Tangier

Following the kidnapping, the victim’s brother alerted the security authorities, after receiving a message via WhatsApp, sent from a foreign number, presumably belonging to the kidnappers, demanding a ransom in exchange for his release. The law enforcement authorities then launched an investigation by examining the recordings of the surveillance cameras in the streets around the kidnapping site and by collecting the testimonies of several residents of the building. The victim’s family feared that the businessman would be subjected to acts of torture due to previous conflicts with the criminal gang, which had been the subject of a complaint after intercepting him a few days ago in the Tanger Balia area.

The investigations bore fruit. The intensification of the pressure exerted by the Tangier police on the kidnappers of the businessman forced the criminal gang to release the businessman, which allowed him to be found in the Aïn Chouka forest, on the outskirts of Tangier. The victim’s family’s fears were legitimate. The businessman was found with signs of torture on his hands, legs and face, before being taken to the Tangier security headquarters to be questioned in order to fully identify his kidnappers.

In the aftermath, two suspects known for their criminal records in the field of international drug trafficking were arrested. They are two brothers, owners of exchange agencies. Unexpectedly, the prosecution ordered their release, after proving that one of them was at the scene of the kidnapping in his vehicle, accompanied by another person, according to the recordings of a surveillance camera installed near the residence where the incident took place.