Moroccan high-ranking officials involved in drug trafficking, official

Moroccan Justice Minister, Mohamed Bouzoubaa, on Tuesday said the ongoing inquiry into drug trafficking in northern Morocco has unveiled the involvement of several high-ranking government officials.

The inquiry, subsequent to the recent dismantling of a large-scale narcotics web, revealed the involvement of officials from security forces, royal gendarmerie, customs administration, businessmen, one President of a rural commune and judges, the Justice Minister told a press conference in Rabat

Mounir Erramach, head of the web, and 17 other persons working in the civil service, were brought before court and are being investigated, the minister said.

These include one police chief, one inspector general, two major police superintendents, one superintendent, one police officer, five magistrates, three royal gendarmerie officers, one customs administration technical agent and a court cleric, said the Minister.

These people will be sued for conspiracy, drug trafficking within an international network, premeditated murder attempt and holding arms without authorization, Bouzoubaa added.

A settlement of scores among drug dealers was behind the unveiling of the web, he said, adding almost half of the judges in the Moroccan northern town of Tetouan, where the web was based, were either moved, suspended or sent to court part of the inquiry.

This is the first time ever that such a high number of government officials are sent to court, said the Minister, adding the fight against corruption is waged in accordance with the instructions of King Mohammed VI, who insists on rigor in managing public affairs.