Moroccan Authorities Bust Criminal Gang Led by ISIS Suporter

Moroccan police, in coordination with the Central Bureau of Judicial Investigations (BCIJ), dismantled a criminal gang led by an individual with loyalty to the terrorist ISIS (Daech) group.

The operation resulted in the arrest of seven members of the criminal gang that perpetuated robberies in several Moroccan cities under the command of a partisan of the terrorist ISIS group, the Interior Ministry said in a statement.

The gang, whose members include recidivists, operated in the cities of Fez, El Jadida and Bni Drar near Oujda, the statement added, noting that the leader of the criminal gang was planning to join his wife and three sons within the ranks of Daech in Iraq and Syria.

The statement explained that he was scheming to use the money gained through criminal activities to fund his trip to ISIS controlled territories in the Middle East.

Several knives, a car and equipment designed to be used for criminal purposes were seized, the statement said, adding that the arrested individuals will be brought before justice for further investigations.

Since its creation in 2015, the BCIJ dismantled 45 terrorist cells and arrested 548 terrorists.

In 2015 alone, the BCIJ neutralized 21 terrorist cells and 19 other cells in 2016, four of which are affiliated to the notorious Al Faye Wa Al Istihlal terrorist group, while 36 were loyal to ISIS. 548 suspect terrorists were brought before justice (275 in 2015 and 273 in 2016).