30 tonnes of cannabis seized

2005-01-07 15:39

Tangiers, Morocco - Moroccan police said on Thursday they had seized more than 30 tonnes of cannabis resin last year in the Moroccan port of Tangiers, a major transit point for drugs destined for Europe.

Police said some 30.2 tonnes of drugs had been confiscated in 207 separate operations, which resulted in the arrest of 277 traffickers, including 127 Moroccans, 39 French, 36 Spaniards and 21 Portuguese, the remainder being from diverse nationalities.

Around 200 vehicles were also confiscated, including 16 lorries and five coaches, it said.

The biggest seizure in the port was recorded on November 29 last, when police found 10.4 tonnes of the resin hidden in a heavy goods vehicle which was preparing to get the ferry for the southern Spanish town of Algeciras.

More than two thirds - 21 tonnes - of the drugs - were destined for Spain, followed by France, Belgium and the Netherlands.

Police said most of the drugs had been harvested in the Rif region, an impoverished, mountainous region in the north of the country, where the UN says some 134 000 hectares (330 000 acres) are under cultivation.

Morocco is a major producer of cannabis, and much of its harvest finds its way into Europe across the Straits of Gibraltar via ports such as Tangiers.

According to a United Nations report published in December 2003, the north African country produces some 47 400 tonnes of cannabis resin per year, with sales estimated at 12 billion dollars (10 billion euros).

- AFP