Morocco Sees 8% Surge in Arrests: Over 420,000 Detained in 2023

During his presentation at a press conference devoted to the efforts made in the fight against crime and the verification of information circulating on social networks, Prefect Mohamed Dkhissi recalled that out of the 420,000 people arrested, 331,252 were apprehended in flagrante delicto and 89,096 others were the subject of arrest warrants in criminal cases and various offenses.

Furthermore, the number of individuals apprehended increased by 8.23% compared to the same period last year, he noted, stressing that during the same period, the number of cases related to thwarted drug trafficking attempts increased significantly by 40%. On the other hand, a very significant increase of 50% was observed concerning the number of individuals arrested, for a total of 94,010 including 308 foreigners. According to the official, the same period last year saw the arrest of 62,839 people in drug cases.

For Dkhissi, 112.138 tons of hashish and derivatives were seized as well as 1,161,000 psychotropic substances, 44 kilograms and 32 grams of cocaine were also confiscated, not to mention more than 6 kg and 402 grams of heroin. The same presentation reports the considerable increase in the number of psychotropic substances seized in the first half of 2019, with more than 554,390 additional substances, i.e. an exponential increase of +91%.

It should be noted that these significant results are the fruit of joint operations carried out by the elements of the National Security and the national territorial surveillance services in view of the danger represented by this type of drug at the origin of many violent crimes.