A Moroccan court has sentenced 29 individuals, including prominent politicians, business figures, and sports officials, for involvement in an international drug trafficking and corruption scheme. The verdict was delivered late Thursday in Casablanca after a trial that lasted over two years, resulting in prison terms, substantial fines, and asset seizures.
The case was triggered by allegations from a jailed drug kingpin known as “Sahara’s Pablo Escobar,” who accused several business associates, including senior Moroccan politicians, of participating in drug trafficking and unlawfully seizing his assets during his imprisonment. The accused parties have denied these claims.
Among those sentenced were Abdennebi Bioui, a construction magnate and former lawmaker with the Authenticity and Modernity Party (PAM), who also once led a Regional Council. Bioui received a 12-year prison term and was fined approximately $16,000. Said Naciri, also a former PAM legislator and former president of the soccer club Wydad AC, was sentenced to 10 years. Another ex-PAM legislator and former soccer club president, Belkacem Mir, received a 10-year sentence as well. Other defendants faced prison terms up to nine years, with fines reaching nearly $27,000. One defendant was acquitted.
Charges brought against the 30 defendants included drug and gold trafficking, corruption, forgery, and violations related to currency exchange controls. Prosecutors had sought convictions and asset seizures against all defendants.
The court also ordered the confiscation of assets belonging to Bioui, Naciri, Mir, and others, with seizures capped at $1 million per individual. Beyond individual penalties, the trio was jointly held responsible for paying hundreds of millions of dollars in financial penalties owed to customs authorities. Additionally, Bioui, Naciri, and Mir were instructed to jointly pay the former drug lord Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim nearly $107,000. Ben Brahim, a Malian trafficker imprisoned in Morocco, had accused his partners of illicitly taking possession of his luxury properties and vehicles, as well as being involved in an international gold trafficking network.
The trial involved 18 witnesses and two civil parties, and during the court’s announcement of the sentences, tensions escalated. Defendants shouted claims of innocence, and the courtroom erupted into chaos, with relatives of those convicted reacting with screams and fainting, requiring police intervention.
This high-profile case has renewed public debate over corruption within Morocco’s political sphere. In response, King Mohammed VI, who traditionally remains above political controversies and rarely speaks publicly, called for the establishment of a legally binding code of ethics aimed at improving transparency and integrity in parliament.
Morocco remains one of the largest global producers and exporters of hashish. While the country has legalized cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial use, illicit drug trafficking persists robustly, partly facilitated by Morocco’s strategic location near Europe. Reports also link the trafficking network to the movement of cannabis resin to neighboring countries, including Libya, Egypt, and Mauritania.