A major hashish trafficking network operating across Morocco, Senegal, and Guinea-Bissau has been dismantled following a successful joint operation between Moroccan authorities and Senegal’s Central Office for the Repression of Illicit Drug Trafficking (OCRTIS).
The transnational investigation began in Marrakech, where Moroccan police seized 85 kilograms of hashish cleverly concealed inside water heaters intended for transport. This seizure prompted a controlled delivery operation, quickly leading investigators to Senegal.
On October 13, OCRTIS officers made three arrests in the Technopole area of Pikine, near Dakar. The suspects—identified as B. Djaby, M. Baldé, and N. Preira—were caught with 25 kilograms of hashish packaged in 250 packets. The drugs were reportedly bound for Guinea-Bissau, where Senegalese police indicate they were to be hidden inside powdered milk containers for export.
Earlier in the probe, investigators had also seized six kilograms of hashish hidden inside two electric water heaters in Yarakh. The subsequent arrest of the recipient confirmed a direct operational link between trafficking networks in Morocco and those active across West Africa.
A search of the suspects’ residence revealed a cache of evidence, including multiple passports and ID cards belonging to nationals of Guinea-Bissau, Senegal, Spain, The Gambia, and Afghanistan. Authorities also confiscated two vehicles, five mobile phones, two checkbooks, several bank cards, and eight sealed milk jugs containing suspicious substances.
Preliminary findings suggest the alleged network mastermind is a man identified as B.L. Tavarez, reportedly based in Guinea-Bissau. Moroccan and Senegalese authorities are continuing their coordinated investigation to determine the full scope of the trafficking operation and identify all accomplices involved.
This operation highlights the growing coordination between Rabat and Dakar in combating illicit trafficking along the West African Atlantic corridor, a route increasingly exploited by international drug smuggling rings.
MK/ak/ac/lb/abj/APA