Fleeing justice, the major drug traffickers of the Strait of Gibraltar are traditionally abandoning northern Morocco to take refuge in Dubai. Today, this luxurious rear base is threatened by geopolitical tensions and new police cooperation.
The Moroccan authorities have contributed to the dismantling of an international arms trafficking network . The arrest of a suspect in Casablanca and his extradition to the United States have neutralized a channel supplying a violent Mexican cartel with military equipment.
The Belgian-Moroccan drug lord Abdelilah El Messaoudi has recently escaped from Turkey to find refuge in Morocco. Despite an electronic bracelet, the fugitive from Antwerp thus avoids a heavy sentence of 39 years in prison in Belgium.
A major player in a drug trafficking network in the Moulins district of Nice was arrested in Morocco at the end of March 2026. This international arrest is the culmination of months of investigation leading to the dismantling of this network.
The police services arrested yesterday, Thursday, a 45-year-old French national. Targeted by an international arrest warrant, the man is suspected of belonging to a drug and arms trafficking network in his country of origin.
Long a sanctuary for European drug traffickers, Dubai is losing its appeal due to the increase in extraditions. Pushed out, some leaders of Moroccan-origin organized crime could seek refuge within the kingdom.
Targeted by several extradition requests from Belgium to serve heavy sentences, the Antwerp drug trafficker Abdelilah El Messaoudi has evaded Turkish surveillance. He has fled to Morocco, moving further away from justice.
The police services of the Mohammed V International Airport in Casablanca apprehended on Monday a 24-year-old Franco-Tunisian national. Subject to an international arrest warrant issued by France, he is suspected of cocaine trafficking and illegal possession of firearms.
A 26-year-old French national, wanted by Interpol for international drug trafficking , was arrested on Friday at the Mohammed V airport in Casablanca. He is subject to an extradition procedure to the French authorities.
A 25-year-old Dutch national, suspected of having commissioned the attack that cost Firdaous her life in 2023 , appeared before the court in Amsterdam. The Belgian authorities are demanding his extradition for this bloody settling of scores.
The escalation in the Middle East and the strengthening of judicial cooperation in Dubai are pushing Belgian drug trafficking barons towards Morocco. This strategic withdrawal benefits from the absence of extradition of dual nationals by the Kingdom.
Arrested in Morocco and then extradited to France , a drug trafficker from Val-de-Marne has been charged in Paris. He is the sixth suspect jailed over the kidnapping and unlawful confinement of an Iraqi entrepreneur linked to money laundering.