Morocco and France bust drug network with 2692 kg cannabis seized

Investigations conducted by the investigation unit in the French city of Lille, in coordination with Morocco’s General Directorate of National Security, have led to the dismantling of an international drug-trafficking network and the arrest of two people implicated in the case, along with the seizure of 2,692 kilograms of narcotics, most of it cannabis resin.

According to a statement from the French Interior Ministry, the public prosecutor’s office in Lille had, on April 13, 2026, referred a case to the investigation unit involving a network active in smuggling cannabis between Morocco and France by sea and by land, particularly toward the Lille region. A preliminary investigation was opened on suspicion of forming a criminal gang involved in importing, transporting, possessing and distributing drugs.

Inquiries carried out in coordination with Moroccan security services led to a simultaneous security and judicial operation on May 24 at four different locations in France. The operation involved members of the Lille investigation unit, supported by units of the French gendarmerie and the gendarmerie’s intervention unit.

The operation resulted in the seizure of 2,692 kilograms of narcotics hidden inside a vehicle shortly after its arrival at the French port of Sète. The vehicle’s driver and another individual suspected of handling the network’s logistics were arrested and placed in police custody.

A search of the second suspect’s home in the Île-de-France region also led to the seizure of €34,000 in cash, as well as a car. Authorities confirmed that part of the seized shipment had been destined for the Lille area.

Yesterday, the Lille public prosecutor’s office opened a formal judicial investigation into the case. The two detainees were charged by the investigating judge, who ordered one of them held in pretrial detention, while the second remains in temporary custody pending a hearing scheduled for June 2.