European-wide Moroccan drug gang arrested

In the past several months the police have rounded up a Moroccan gang that smuggled out packages of cocaine from Rotterdam to different European countries. 25 suspects were arrested in the Netherlands, Denmark and Germany. Twenty of them are still in jail.

According to the police, the organization consisted mostly of Moroccan staying illegally in the Netherlands, who often switched around residences. They stayed in Rotterdam, Schiedam, Capelle aan den IJssel and Amsterdam. their houses were rented out for them by money launderers.

The ball got rolling when Danish police discovered 3.5 kilo of cocaine in a car at the end of last year. The car had gone from Rotterdam to Scandinavia. In a search of the house of one of the suspects in Denmark police found another 6 kilo of the drug and two machine guns.

The gang couriers transferred in 2006 to Denmark alone 100 kilo cocaine. This was done in smaller packages in prepared cars. Those types of transports also went out to other European countries such as Germany, France, Belgium and Italy.

Besides drugs police also confiscated firearms in house searches in the Netherlands. The suspects invested the money they earned in real estate in Morocco among other things.

In the Netherlands the Organized Crime Unit of the regional criminal investigation department was involved in investigating the case from February till September 2007.

Source: Telegraaf (Dutch)

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