RABAT, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- The Moroccan security services have seized over one ton of cocaine in the coastal city of El Jadida, the Interior Ministry announced Saturday.
The banned substance was concealed in a Morocco-registered truck, the ministry said in a statement, adding that the operation's mastermind and six other suspects with criminal records have been arrested.
According to the statement, preliminary investigations revealed that the drug seized was smuggled by sea from a Latin American country by a commercial vessel.
The drug was then unloaded off the coast of El Jadida, transported onboard fishing vessels to nearby beach before being transported on the truck intended for vegetables.
During this operation, two rubber boats, a hydraulic engine and two four-wheel drive vehicles were seized, the same source noted.
Results of forensic testing conducted on samples of the cocaine seized showed that the drug is highly-concentrated, the source added.
The Moroccan ministry said investigations are underway to determine the regional and international ramifications of this criminal network as well as its possible links to international mafias and South American cartels.
Morocco seized record 2.84 tons of cocaine in 2017, 1.5 tons more than the amount seized in 2016.
