Morocco Intensifies Drug Crackdown Amid COVID-19 Border Closures

"The Covid-19 pandemic has had repercussions on drug trafficking due to the public health emergency measures decreed by the authorities, particularly the closure of borders and the restriction of inter-city travel and movement, which has forced criminal networks to adapt their modus operandi and change the routes to continue their illegal activities by using distant and potentially tedious circuits," explains Abderrahim Habib, chief police commissioner and head of the anti-drug trafficking department, to Aujourd’hui Le Maroc.

In its latest publication entitled "Fight against Transnational Crime: Resilience and Appropriate Response", the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN) states that Morocco has adopted a multidimensional and balanced anti-drug strategy, respectful of rights and freedoms, and based on the international normative framework. These actions are supplemented by the detection, repression and surveillance measures put in place at border posts and along the coastline, the attack on criminal assets and property, as well as international cooperation. These actions have been "crowned by an unprecedented increase in interception rates, and have thus made it possible to seize large quantities of drugs and narcotics and dismantle many criminal networks".

Last year, the DGSN services, in collaboration with the DGST, seized significant quantities of drugs, particularly cannabis and its derivatives, amounting to 217 tons. The number of cases handled during the first 11 months of 2020 was 72,197, compared to 90,032 in 2019, a reduction of 23%. As for the quantities of cannabis resin seized, they are on the rise (191 tons 917 kg in 2020 compared to 161 tons 385 kg in 2019). As for cocaine, the overall trend has fallen by nearly 76% compared to 2019 due to the closure of air and sea routes. As for psychotropic substances, their trafficking has decreased by 67%.

The intervention of the cynological teams also resulted in the detection of 7 tons 736 kg and 315 g of cannabis in 2020 and 22,509 psychotropic tablets. Morocco is no longer a safe haven for drug traffickers.