Beni mellal: The Beni Mellal Police Prefecture, in coordination with the General Directorate of Territorial Surveillance (DGST), arrested early Monday five individuals, including three repeat offenders, for their alleged involvement in a case of possession and trafficking of drugs and psychotropic substances, as well as attempted murder of a police officer in the line of duty.
According to Agence Marocaine De Presse, this security operation was carried out in the rural area of Bni Khirat (20 km from Oued Zem) in coordination on the ground with the judicial police brigades of the cities of Khouribga, BejaSd, Kasbat Tadla, and Oued Zem. The suspects, aged 34 to 46, were caught in the act of transporting drugs from a city in the north of the Kingdom in a utility vehicle and an off-road vehicle.
The suspects, who refused to comply during the police operation, attempted to flee in high-speed, slightly injuring three police officers, who received first aid. A fourth officer was seriously injured in several parts
of his head and body after being deliberately struck by the vehicle traveling at high speed. He was admitted to the hospital’s intensive care unit in critical condition.
Search operations conducted during this operation uncovered 2 kg of cocaine, 310 kg of kif, 11 kg of cannabis resin (chira), and 72.9 kg of contraband tobacco in the suspects’ possession, as well as a knife, an unauthorized hunting rifle, and two counterfeit license plates.
A check of the suspects’ identities in the National Security database also revealed that two of them were the subject of several nationwide warrants issued by the Royal Gendarmerie and the judicial police in the cities of El KelaS Sraghna, Khouribga, and Beni Mellal, for their alleged involvement in similar cases related to drug and psychotropic substance trafficking, as well as attempted murder, unauthorized possession of a firearm, and the creation of a criminal gang.
The five suspects have been placed under judicial investigation under the supervision of the competen
t prosecutor’s office to establish the full scope of this criminal activity and to apprehend all accomplices and participants involved. The Director General of National Security and Territorial Surveillance also instructed National Security’s medical and social services to monitor the injured officer’s health and provide him with the necessary care and assistance. The Human Resources Directorate has likewise been tasked with reviewing and proposing the administrative incentives and distinctions to which the officer may be entitled, in recognition of his sense of duty and sacrifice.