A senior Spanish judge in the southern city of Cadiz has gone on record as condemning the failure of the Moroccan state to clamp down on hashish entering Europe through Spain, amid wider claims by her that the Port of Algeciras is becoming a point of entry for narcotics into the EU.
Judge Nieves Marina made the claims in a long-form interview with the Spanish press, alleging that a complete lack of cooperation from Moroccan authorities enabled illicit substances to enter Spain, with concerns that the port, like Rotterdam, is becoming an easy conduit for cocaine trafficking after the Spanish port has been the location of high-profile drug busts.
According to Marina, the movement of cocaine and hashish on this scale through Algeciras is relatively new, with Morocco’s zero cooperation and failure to assist in the extradition of notorious drug lords a major hindrance to Spanish law enforcement.
When asked, the Spanish judge cited Abdellah El Haj—one of Europe’s most notorious drug peddlers—who is resident in Morocco despite multiple arrest warrants against him. This is indicative of Morocco’s attitude toward narcotics policing, according to the judge, with other commentators noting El Haj’s highly publicised parties involving members of the Moroccan elite.
Dutch intelligence services were rocked by an espionage scandal by Moroccan agents late last year, as one captured drug kingpin described the extent to which the narcotrade is being manipulated by a backroom cabal of Moroccan officials referred to as the “Makhzen,” grouped around King Mohammed VI.
An extensive diaspora community in Spain, the Netherlands, and Belgium has given Moroccan organised crime a major stake in the supply of drugs to Western Europe, with its drug cartels being specifically linked to the explosion of narcoterrorism in the Belgian city of Antwerp over the past two years.
Morocco’s influence on Spanish and EU politics has been scrutinised in recent years, due to the use of Pegasus spyware technology against Spanish officials and the Qatargate scandal within the European Parliament drawing in Morocco’s intelligence service. The North African state has steadily increased its geopolitical heft, not least on account of its strategic agreements with the United States and Israel.
Regarding the flow of cocaine into Europe, Moroccan gangs are understood to be the primary liaison point between Europe and Latin American cartels. Doubts also exist surrounding the ‘accidental’ release of Moroccan drug boss Karim Bouyakhrichan from a Spanish jail last month. Separately, the heir to the Dutch throne Princess Amalia was forced to go into hiding amid a kidnapping plot spearheaded by Moroccan gangsters.
Despite these murky circumstances, Morocco continues to enjoy positive relations with both the EU and the United States, including receiving €624 million worth of green funding. Its preparation for drone attacks against indigenous rebels in Western Sahara attracts relatively little Western condemnation; instead, NATO is considering further partnership with the Moroccan military.
