Rabat – Members of the Moroccan Royal Navy seized five tonnes of cannabis resin from the sea in Safi, in Morocco’s Atlantic coast, between April 6-8.

The cannabis was concealed in 137 packages, a  military source said on April 10.

The navy transferred the drug cargo to the port of Casablanca for legal procedures.

The operation is part of Morocco’s efforts to fight against drug trafficking.

The North African country’s security services regularly carry out several similar operations against drug trafficking networks.

Morocco also helps its partners internationally to arrest foil drug trafficking attempts.

One of the latest operations was in March, when police aborted an international cannabis trafficking attempt in the city of El Jadida, near Casablanca.

During the operation, police seized 3.3 tonnes of cannabis resin.

In 2020, Moroccan police arrested 97,564 people for their involvement in drug trafficking. The figure represents a decline of 23% compared to 2019.

Throughout different operations, security services also seized 217.323 kilograms of cannabis resin and its derivatives.

The number represents an increase of 37 tonnes compared to 2019.

Morocco’s police also seized 132 kilograms of cocaine, 476,923 psychotropic pills, eight kilograms of heroin, and more than 217 tonnes of cannabis in 2020.