A Moroccan court sentences 29 prominent people in major drug trafficking and corruption case

CASABLANCA, Morocco (AP) — A Moroccan court handed prison sentences to 29 people, including prominent politicians and sports and business figures, in an international drug trafficking and corruption scandal that has rocked the country.

The court also ordered the defendants to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in fines late Thursday after a trial that lasted more than two years.

The case began when an imprisoned drug kingpin dubbed “Sahara’s Pablo Escobar," in reference to the notorious Colombian trafficker, alleged that some of his business associates, including senior Moroccan politicians, were involved in drug trafficking and seized his assets while he was in prison. Those accused have denied the allegations.

The revelations led to multiple arrests and a lengthy trial that involved 30 defendants, 18 witnesses and two civil parties. The case reignited debate over corruption in Moroccan political circles. It also prompted King Mohammed VI, Morocco’s highest authority and a figure officially above politics who rarely speaks publicly, to call for the adoption of a legally binding code of ethics to “moralize” life in parliament.

Abdennebi Bioui, a construction tycoon and former lawmaker with the co-governing Authenticity and Modernity Party, or PAM, who headed a Regional Council, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined $15,989.

Said Naciri, a former PAM lawmaker and former president of Wydad AC, one of Morocco’s most prominent soccer clubs, was sentenced to 10 years in prison.

Belkacem Mir, a former PAM lawmaker and former president of a soccer club, was also sentenced to 10 years.

Other defendants received prison sentences of up to nine years and fines of up to $26,649. One was acquitted. Charges included drug and gold trafficking, corruption, forgery and violations of exchange control regulations. Attorneys can appeal the ruling.

The court ordered the seizure of assets belonging to several defendants, including Bioui, Naciri and Mir, capped at $1 million. It also ordered hundreds of millions of dollars in financial penalties to be paid to customs authorities, with the bulk to be paid jointly by the three men.

Prosecutors had called for the conviction of all the defendants and the seizure of assets, according to local media.

As the judge read out the sentences, shouts of protest rang out from the defendants’ box. “I am innocent. I haven’t done anything,” some yelled. Within moments, the tension inside the packed courtroom No. 8 boiled over into scenes of panic and grief. Relatives screamed, some collapsed to the floor, and others wept as police officers pushed through the crowd to restore order.

Police documents presented in court show that Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim, a jailed Malian drug lord, accused his partners of involvement in an international gold trafficking network. He also accused them of seizing his assets, including a luxury villa, high-end apartments and dozens of cars.

The Paris-based magazine Jeune Afrique has reported that Ben Brahim teamed up with Moroccan politicians to transport cannabis resin to Libya, Egypt and Mauritania.

Morocco is one of the world’s largest producers and exporters of hashish. Although the North African nation has legalized cannabis cultivation for medical and industrial purposes, drug trafficking remains deeply entrenched. Its proximity to Europe has helped traffickers move narcotics across the Mediterranean.

The court ordered Bioui, Naciri and Mir to jointly pay Hadj Ahmed Ben Brahim $106,599.