RABAT: Moroccan authorities have seized almost five tons of cannabis resin from a vehicle near Casablanca and arrested the driver, the national security service said in a statement Saturday.
The DGSN said a man transporting 4.96 tons of the resin in a utility vehicle was arrested on Friday evening at the entrance to the port city of Mohammedia after a surveillance operation.
An investigation is underway to identify those involved in “the criminal network and determine its national and international ramifications,” the statement said.
Earlier this month, authorities announced they had seized over 11 tons of cannabis resin in the northern port city of Tangier.
Morocco is one of the world’s top cannabis producers, although the authorities say they are cracking down and seized nearly 180 tons of the drug last year.
The DGSN also announced a separate drug seizure in an operation Saturday morning in the central city of Meknes.
Three people aged between 20 and 22, suspected of transporting the drugs on an inter-city coach, were arrested, it said.
The security agency said the operation led to the seizure of 2,543 pills of ecstasy and the drug Rivotril, along with cocaine, bladed weapons, mobile phones and cash.