Morocco Loses Millions in Revenue to Smuggling at Spanish Enclaves

So far, few figures have been revealed about the real cost of this smuggling, but according to the Director General of the Customs and Indirect Taxes Administration (ADII) Nabil Lakhdar, Morocco would lose between 6 and 8 billion dirhams each year, or between 550 million and 730 million euros, just for smuggling at the level of Ceuta. In taxes, the figures are estimated between 2 and 3 billion dirhams by the official.

"These are amounts that the Treasury of the State is losing, and if we add that of Melilla, the figures are doubled," lamented Lakhdar last week during a commission that met in the House of Representatives. The latter suggested closing the border posts to smuggled products within 5 to 10 years, acknowledging however that this is a very difficult decision to make and that it is the government that will have the final say.

For the customs director, maintaining the current status quo creates a pull effect and many young Moroccans from the interior of the country come to Ceuta and Melilla to try their luck in smuggling products. And these products, precisely, it is not uncommon to find them in the souks and markets in Casablanca, Rabat and even Marrakech and Agadir.