INTERPOL-wanted French National arrested in Marrakech

A 35-year-old French national who was the subject of international arrest warrants issued by the French judicial authorities for cases linked to deliberate homicide and international drug trafficking was arrested in Marrakech on Wednesday, a security source said.

A cross-checking with the database of the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol) confirmed that the individual was the subject of an international alert for a wanted person, specifically a ‘red notice’ issued at the request of the French judicial authorities. This notice aimed to enforce prison sentences handed down against him for his involvement in cocaine trafficking and his participation in a homicide linked to settling scores between drug trafficking gangs in France, the source explained. The French national is also suspected of being involved in forgery. During a search of his residence in Marrakech at the time of his arrest, forged identity documents, both French and foreign, were seized.

The individual was placed in police custody to facilitate ongoing investigations supervised by the relevant public prosecutor’s office, focusing on forgery and the use of forged documents. Concurrently, the National Central Bureau (Interpol Office in Rabat), under the General Directorate of National Security, was tasked with informing its counterpart in France about the arrest to launch the extradition procedure, the source confirmed.

This arrest aligns with international security cooperation relations and underscores the efforts exerted by Moroccan security services to locate individuals wanted internationally for involvement in transnational crime cases.