Moroccan court sentences 29 in drug and corruption case
The Casablanca verdict closed a two-year trial tied to a Malian trafficker known as the “Escobar of the Sahara.”
By Sofia Marchetti · World Affairs Correspondent
3 min read
A Moroccan court sentenced 29 people to prison terms of up to 12 years in a drug trafficking and corruption case that drew in political, business and sports figures. AFP and AP reported that the verdicts, handed down late Thursday in Casablanca after a two-year trial, marked one of Morocco’s largest anti-corruption cases.
The defendants were convicted on charges that included drug and gold trafficking, corruption, forgery and money laundering, according to AFP and AP. The court also ordered asset seizures and imposed customs and exchange fines worth hundreds of millions of dollars against the main figures in the case.
Politicians and sports figures convicted
Among the most prominent defendants were Abdennebi Bioui, a construction businessman and former regional council president; Said Naciri, former president of Casablanca’s Wydad AC football and sports club; and former member of parliament Belkacem Mir. AFP and AP reported that all three were senior members of the governing PAM party.
Bioui received a 12-year prison sentence, while Naciri and Mir were each sentenced to 10 years, according to AFP and AP. Other defendants received prison terms ranging from two to nine years, based on what the court found to be their roles in the network.
The case was heard at the Criminal Chamber of the Casablanca Court of Appeal. Security personnel were present at the final hearing, according to AFP photographs from the courthouse.
Testimony from jailed trafficker
AFP and AP reported that the case began after testimony from El Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim, a Malian drug trafficker nicknamed the “Pablo Escobar of the Sahara.” Ben Brahim is serving a 10-year sentence in Morocco.
Ben Brahim told judicial investigators that former Moroccan associates in politics and business had turned against him after his 2019 arrest, according to AFP and AP. He said they took luxury property and vehicles worth millions of dollars.
The trial examined an alleged network accused of moving tonnes of Moroccan cannabis resin through North Africa toward Europe, along with cocaine shipments from Latin America, AFP and AP reported. The proceedings included more than 20 defendants, 18 witnesses and two civil parties.
Political fallout
The case also produced repercussions beyond the courtroom. AFP and AP reported that the scandal reached the upper levels of the Moroccan state and led King Mohammed VI to call for a legally binding ethics code intended to “moralise” parliamentary life.
Moroccan media reported that relatives of convicted defendants were present in court without legal representation because of a lawyers’ strike. Some family members were left in shock, with some collapsing inside the courthouse, according to those reports.
The verdicts close a case that connected organised drug trafficking allegations with corruption claims against people who held public influence in Morocco. AFP and AP reported that the penalties combined long prison terms, financial sanctions and the confiscation of assets.
This story draws on original reporting from Al Jazeera.