Arrest in Morocco of a French drug baron wanted by Interpol – La Provence

By La Provence (with AFP) A French drug trafficker, involved in an international network and wanted by Interpol, was arrested Friday in Casablanca, Morocco, we learned Tuesday from the Moroccan police. “A French citizen of Algerian origin who was the subject of a red notice issued by Interpol was arrested at Mohammed V airport in Casablanca,” said the General Directorate of National Security (DGSN). The man – whose identity has not been revealed by the DGSN – was arrested “for his links with a criminal network of international trafficking in hard drugs between Belgium, France and the Netherlands”, specifies the press release, without further details. The Interpol red notice was issued last April at the request of the French judicial authorities for criminal association and drug trafficking, specifies the information site Le Desk, citing an authorized source at the within the DGSN. Described as a “big fish” in drug trafficking, the 33-year-old suspect is believed to be involved in several heroin and cocaine trafficking operations between France, Belgium and the Netherlands. His name reappeared recently as a sponsor during a police anti-drug operation in the Orleans region, near Paris, where he is from, Moroccan media report. In 2018, this man had been involved in a case of import of 200 kilos of cocaine into the port of Le Havre. He reappeared in 2019 in a story of importing narcotics to Grenoble by “go fast” from the Maghreb via Spain. On the run, he was then arrested in Villeurbanne, near Lyon, in June 2020. His trace had since been lost. According to the usual procedure, the Moroccan justice should decide soon on his extradition.